<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Mixtape by EveningLily</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29860368">Mixtape</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveningLily/pseuds/EveningLily'>EveningLily</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DC Extended Universe, DCU, Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Character of Color, F/F, F/M, Female Character of Color, Late 2010's and Present Time Period/Setting, M/M, Multi, Probably Cheesy, Queer Character, Queer Themes, Queerplatonic Relationships, Re-Imagined Characters and Universe, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, hopefully fun, music-themed, pop culture references, short story collection, teen comedy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:40:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,237</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29860368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveningLily/pseuds/EveningLily</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They had game nights, not movie nights, called their squad vehicle the "The Wasp," not the "T-Car," and went out for Mexican, not pizza. So get a plate of nachos, some headphones, and your facts straight - it's time to go through the Titans East's first year as a team, track by track.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Both Romantic and Platonic - Relationship, Multiple Pairings - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Story Description: I am writing this as a collection of interconnected, self-contained stories detailing an alternate timeline/origin of the Titans East. It features re-imagined members of the team + cameos from other TT favs. Each chapter, or "track," is named after a song inspired by a different Titans East member. See if you can guess which chapter is who ;)</p><p>Genre: teen dramedy, action</p><p>Rating: T</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>[PLAYING: TRACK 1]</strong>
</p><p>Sure, they were Teen Titans, but contrary to trashy online tabloids, they were not "cheap knock-offs of the originals." In addition to the fact that they all clearly had different appearances and powers, several key traits set Titans East apart from their west coast counterparts.</p><p>They had game nights, not movie nights, called their squad vehicle the "The Wasp," not the "T-Car," and went out for Mexican, not pizza. When they did, everyone abstained from getting fish tacos, lest they draw the wrath of their prissy Atlantean teammate, who could bench press a thousand pounds with one arm.</p><p>Also, their car flew - really, really fast. While Bumblebee's naming skills could have been better, her engineering skills were unparalleled. The twins weren't typically wowed by automobiles - why would you be when you could run at the speed of sound, right? - but even they thought an armored, chic, futuristic electric car capable of flight, among many other things, was "muy, muy calidó." "I'm assuming that means 'sick as hell'," Speedy had said on the first test ride. It was an unpleasant memory, more for him than them. Turns out that back then, flying made the twelve year-old speedsters nauseous. They shook it off eventually, but not before Speedy spent days scrubbing barf off his uniform. Fortunately, he didn't stay too mad. Getting to pilot the Wasp on missions helped him easily get over its cheesy name, as well as the vomit stains he incurred while inside it.</p><p>As much as they all enjoyed soaring from place to place in a flying car, the five of them didn't get to do it around town. Heavily enforced laws, specifically targeting their team, prevented Titans East from using airborne vehicles within Steel City limits. Unlike the Titans out west, Titans East didn't have a stellar relationship with their city's police department. Quite the opposite, actually. Speedy personally hated cops. That was one of the few things on which he and Bumblebee could find common ground.</p><p>Speaking of whom - they didn't have a spiky-haired leader who smelled of cheap styling gel; their leader sported Afro puffs and impeccably laid baby hairs. Like the Boy Wonder, she took things way too seriously and could be a perfectionist to a fault. The two leaders' perfectionism, however, manifested in different ways. With Robin, it manifested through a habit of being overly competitive, and with Bumblebee, it did so through a tendency to micromanage. Some members of her team put up with it better than others.</p><p><em>The Boss Lady's a genius and all,</em> thought Speedy. <em>But she's also pretty. Pretty<strong> annoying.</strong></em></p><p>"You are UNbelievable<em>,</em>" ranted Bumblebee, yet again giving him crap over...what was it exactly? Speedy tended to tune her out when they were off-duty. Then again, Bumblebee was never really "off duty." When she wasn't fighting crime, she mostly spent her time holed up in the Tower's tech lab. He could swear the few moments she didn't spend there were spent buzzing angrily in his ear. <em>No feet on the table, Speedy. Quit shooting spitballs at Aqualad, Speedy. That's an atomic particle adapter component, not a frisbee, Speedy.</em></p><p>Okay, so her reprimands might have been justified more times than he'd like to admit.</p><p>"I can't believe I have to keep telling you not to do this," she continued, hands on her hips.</p><p>She was totally harshing his vibe. His very, very chill vibe. He stared as she pushed her sleek goggles up onto her forehead. They had gold frames and lenses the color of honey. <em>Mmm, honey,</em> he thought. <em>Man</em>, <em>I'm getting hungry.</em></p><p>Seriously, what was she complaining about now? All he had been doing was sitting at the kitchen counter, minding his own business, wiping his boots clean of caked mud.</p><p>He paused. <em>Oh, wait.</em></p><p>"Hell-<em>o</em>," she said, tapping her foot. "Are you hearing a word I'm saying?"</p><p>"Unfortunately," he grumbled, sure that if it were possible, jets of steam would have been shooting out of her ears.</p><p>"Go. Clean your boots. Somewhere else," Bumblebee ordered through gritted teeth. "But not before you clean up the mess you've made here!"</p><p>He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah mom. Just give me like ten minutes."</p><p>"No," she said, tone iron-clad. "I'm telling you to do it <em>now</em>."</p><p>"Ever heard of 'asking nicely'?" he replied. "You know, maybe using the word 'please'?"</p><p>"I don't have to say please," snapped Bumblebee. "I'm your <em>leader</em>."</p><p>Speedy's jaw tightened. He put down his left boot and the dirty cloth he had been holding in the other hand. Stepping off the stool, he addressed his fuming teammate, now looking just as mad as she was.</p><p>"I'm not finished yet," he said, trying to maintain his cool. "I'll clean up and leave when I'm ready."</p><p>Bumblebee stared up at him, crossing her arms over her black sports bra. Its dark color hid many grease spots. She had tied the sleeves of a yellow cargo jumpsuit at the base of her bare midriff, the garment's baggy legs clothing her bottom half. That, plus matching yellow gloves and a headband to hold back her tight curls, was what she usually wore when working with machinery. Admittedly it was a cute look, but it was hard for him to focus on cuteness when he was this pissed.</p><p>"No," she said, uncompromising in her authority. "You'll do it now."</p><p>"You can't make me," he said.</p><p>"It's an order."</p><p>"I don't take orders from cheerleaders."</p><p>White hot energy sparked at her fingertips, a reflexive manifestation of her building anger. But as much as he could get under her skin, she wouldn't ever consider stinging him on purpose with her powers. That had only ever happened once, and she had promised to never do it again. Besides, she was already doing plenty of proverbial stinging with her eyes. Speedy remained unintimidated. He met her glare with an intense one of his own.</p><p>She seethed. "<em>You-"</em></p><p>The sound of the Tower's siren cut Bumblebee off before she could give him any further piece of her mind.</p><p>"GUYS," came Aqualad's exasperated voice. The tall, handsome boy emerged from his pool, having overheard his teammates' spat while underwater. He was wearing his usual costume - a sleeveless unitard composed of dark navy-blue scales; it gloved his long legs and had a deep V-neckline that sloped down into a silver belt at his waist.</p><p>This was not the first time the Atlantean had interjected in the middle of one of their stand-offs. As both their stony gazes shifted to him, he went from exasperated to sheepish.</p><p>"Ahem, uh," he said, clearing his throat. "Duty calls?"</p><p>"Yeah, we can hear the sirens too, fish boy," muttered Speedy.</p><p>Not one to mince words, Bumblebee jogged to the main computer at the front of the room. Más and Menos appeared in a flash beside Speedy, making him flinch. White and crimson, aerodynamic tracksuits clung to their wiry frames. The yellow visors in their cowls were pushed up, revealing eager brown eyes.</p><p>"Cuál es la situación?" asked Más.</p><p>"That's what I'm trying to figure out," answered Bumblebee, swiftly typing on the keyboard. "Hmm, okay. There's a robbery in progress at fifth and Hazelwood. Andre Leblanc. Natural History Museum."</p><p>"Eso es todo?" said Menos.</p><p>"Cake," said Speedy, pulling his hood up. "And here I thought this day might actually be interesting."</p><p>"Enough talk," said Bumblebee. "Let's get down to business."</p><p>Aqualad lightly nudged Speedy's shoulder. "<em>I'm </em>driving."</p><hr/><p>The Wasp was technologically out of this world, with badass switchblade doors to boot. When zooming around Steel City, the car looked like a bright gold blur against gray concrete. At least it looked like that when Speedy was behind the wheel.</p><p>"Geez, fish boy," he said. "You drive like an old lady."</p><p>"Yeah, and you drive with no regard for traffic regulations," said Aqualad.</p><p>"Riiight, why care about the laws the bad guy is breaking when we should make sure to come to a complete stop at all stop signs?" Speedy retorted sarcastically. "At this rate, the dude'll have gotten away with the goods by the time you find us a space in visitor parking."</p><p>"Podemos correr más rápido que esto!" the twins complained in unison.</p><p>"What they said," Speedy chimed in, having in fact not actually understood what they said. "Mas ra-PEE-do, Al!"</p><p>"Be quiet," said Aqualad. "I'm trying to focus on driving."</p><p>"Don't tell me what to do."</p><p>"Oh yeah," he said. "We're all aware that you can't stand being told to not be obnoxious. Bumblebee especially. You know, our team leader?"</p><p>"You're always on her side," Speedy grumbled. "Look, Cyborg may have made Bee the boss of this team but she is not the boss of <em>me</em>."</p><p>"Uh, hello? You're part of the team. So she literally is."</p><p>"No way man," he said. "She lets the whole 'leader' thing go to her head! The girl's always on a major power trip."</p><p>Aqualad sighed. "Look, she should probably be less harsh about enforcing rules. But you could definitely afford to <em>follow</em> a rule once in a while. Maybe start with remembering something as simple as not polishing your boots in the kitchen?"</p><p>"It's not my fault I don't have a whole freakin' lab to myself," said Speedy. "Or a personal pool that takes up a fourth of the tower."</p><p>"That's an exaggeration," replied Aqualad. "And you have your own room. You could clean your dirty boots in there. Or basically anywhere else in the tower that isn't where we eat?"</p><p>Speedy passive-aggressively yanked his hood over his baseball cap. "I like to snack while I polish."</p><p>"Eso no significa que nos guste," said Menos.</p><p>"Haragán," added his brother, snickering.</p><p>"What is this?" groaned Speedy. "Harass Speedy day?"</p><p>Aqualad sighed. "You done?"</p><p>"No, I'm not," said the other teen, getting testier by the second. "Like, why did Cyborg even pick her to be leader? What <em>real</em> qualifications does she have that we don't? High school pep squad captain? Robotics club president? Honor roll, fun-sucker-goodie-goodie? Gimme a break...I bet he only made her boss 'cus they dated a million years ago and he still has a thing for her."</p><p>"I don't think he's the only one."</p><p>Speedy blinked.</p><p>"Oh, HELL no fish boy," he shot back vehemently. "She is so not my type. She's the opposite of my type. She's, like, a <em>popular girl</em>. A prep. A square. She's just...just <em>lame</em>, ya know? She's-"</p><p>The audio system beeped loudly. Aqualad hit the speaker button and Bumblebee's voice filled the car. <em>Speak of the cherry lip gloss-wearing devil</em>, thought Speedy.</p><p>"I can see the museum up ahead, as well as Leblanc," she said. "Evidently he's making a run for it right out the front doors."</p><p>"Dumbass," was Speedy's only remark.</p><p>"He won't get away," said Aqualad as the car approached the destination. "Do we know what he's stealing?"</p><p>"My money's on Daxamite jewels," replied Bumblebee. "The museum received a rare shipment of them earlier this week for research purposes. They fetch a hefty price on the black market."</p><p>"Well, they won't be going on the black market."</p><p>Aqualad hit the breaks and swerved to a stop in a manner that was way cooler than Speedy had thought the pretty-boy capable.</p><p>"Nice," commented the archer, loading his bow before the automatic doors opened and they all leapt out onto the street. "All right, let's hurry up and bag this stinky cheese, snail-eating chump."</p><p>"How eloquently put," said Bumblebee as she made a line straight for said chump. The mustachioed jewel thief, clad in all white, only smirked. Bumblebee wondered what was so amusing, until she flew right through him as if he was made of nothing.</p><p>"What the—a hologram?" she said, halting mid-air and whipping back around.</p><p>"They're everywhere!" yelled Aqualad, punching through one with Herculean strength only to split a park bench on the other side. Sure enough, they were now surrounded by thirty Andre Leblanc's, all snickering in unison.</p><p>"I hope you all can appreciate the little modification I've made to my suit. It is capable of much, much more now," said the villain(s). "This truly makes me <em>zee</em> world's greatest jewel thief!"</p><p>"Whatever, dude," said Speedy, firing a barrage of energy arrows at a row of Leblanc's. "Last time we fought you said the same thing about your suction-cup galoshes, and we still kicked your ass."</p><p>Coincidentally, that time had also been when Speedy learned that "galoshes" were a type of shoe and not a French brand of underwear.</p><p>"Ellos siguen multiplicándose!" said Más as the twins darted through several holographic clones.</p><p>"Cómo encontramos el real?" asked Ménos.</p><p>"The flesh-and-blood version has gotta be here somewhere," said Bumblebee, zapping more fakes with her stingers. "We just have to get rid of the holographic ones all at once!"</p><p>Her eyes surveyed the immediate area, trying to think of a solution. When her gaze settled on the large fountain in front of the museum, she immediately called to Aqualad.</p><p>"Al, the fountain!" she ordered. "Flush 'em all out!"</p><p>He didn't need to be told twice. Raising his arms, Aqualad summoned the water out of the structure and flooded the space around them. The holograms all tried to flee, but the waves rushed towards them too quickly to outrun. The dozens of fake Leblanc's fizzled out, leaving behind a single, waterlogged original. He quickly got back on his feet and tried to escape, brandishing some sort of laser gun in one hand. Más y Menos sprinted at him, stopping Leblanc in his tracks. They raced around him in a dizzying circle, confiscating the weapon and leaving him too dazed to walk straight. He couldn't manage even three steps before Speedy shot two consecutive arrows at him. One hit the sack off his back and pinned it to a nearby wall, and the other broke into a net, which promptly captured him like a wild beast.</p><p>"Like I said," declared Speedy as the five of them approached the criminal. "cake."</p><p>"You'd think the world's greatest jewel thief wouldn't get <em>caught</em> so often," said Aqualad, earning a nasty glare from the apprehended Leblanc.</p><p>"Sí," agreed Más.</p><p>"Esto es patético," added Menos, shaking his head.</p><p>"Nice work, Titans," said Bumblebee, who had retrieved the sack. "Now we can return these to...hey, where—where are the jewels?!"</p><p>She had opened the cloth bag and dumped out its contents, finding that they were just a bunch of crumpled paper balls.</p><p>"Hon, hon," chuckled Leblanc from within the net. "I suppose you Titans are not that smart!"</p><p>Bumblebee glowered at him. "I thought you were here to steal the Daxamite jewels, Leblanc."</p><p>"Oh, well I was..." he said mischievously. Just then, a loud explosion caught them all off guard. The Titans' heads all snapped towards the source of the deafening sound.</p><p>"It came from the museum," said Aqualad.</p><p>Speedy's brow creased. "Duh. I have a feeling frog-legs here was only supposed to be a distraction."</p><p>Bumblebee stiffened. "Más y Menos, make sure Leblanc stays put until the police get here. Speedy, Aqualad, come with me."</p><hr/><p>The three of them waded through the shadows of the lowest, dingiest level of the museum. The basement not only held hundreds of dusty boxes and strangely-shaped, triple-bubble-wrapped objects, but it was also where the institution's laboratory was located. The white doors that made up the lab entrance were wide open. Inside, they discovered a metal safe that constituted an entire wall. At its center was a smoking hole. While they spotted numerous fossils and cryogenically-frozen mutant animals on the other side of the hole, the sophisticated containing unit labeled "Daxamite Jewels" was empty.</p><p>"You think they got away?" asked Speedy as the lights flickered. He and his teammates walked back into the main area of the basement.</p><p>Aqualad ran a hair through his silken black hair. "I-<em>ugh!</em>"</p><p>"Al!" exclaimed Bumblebee.</p><p>Her teammate flew backwards into a stack of boxes. A blood-red X was wrapped around his arms. The lights shorted out.</p><p>"I could've made my exit earlier," said a distorted voice. "But I just couldn't help sticking around to play. I had to see what you 'Titans East' are all about, you know?"</p><p>"Who the heck are you?" demanded Speedy, shooting a series of arrows in the voice's direction. Meanwhile, Bumblebee activated the night vision in her goggles and Aqualad broke free of his restraints.</p><p>"Are you working for Andre Leblanc?" Bumblebee asked.</p><p>"Name's Red X," came the reply. "And ha, no. Don't insult me, babe. Just so happened that me and that French monkey were after the same prize this evening. But it was clear that he didn't stand a chance against me, so he gave up real quick. Then I offered to pay the guy as much as he could get for these jewels to distract you kiddies. Even threw in my hologram patch to sweeten the deal."</p><p>Speedy jerked to the right, feeling a blade nick the side of his neck and narrowly miss an artery. Bumblebee spotted a slender, tall black shadow whoosh out from a corner. She aimed her stingers at him, delivering an assault of bright yellow energy blasts. He dodged them all and glided up the stairs to the ground floor.</p><p>"Come on, <em>titans</em>," his voice echoed mockingly. "That all you got?"</p><p>Bumblebee made a frustrated noise. "Titans, after hi-ayy, watch it!"</p><p>"You watch it!" Speedy barked, having accidentally barreled into her.</p><p>"Guys!" said Aqualad desperately. "He's getting away!"</p><p>She gnashed her teeth together. "No, he's <em>not</em>."</p><p>Flying swiftly out of the basement with the other two following behind, Bumblebee scanned the area for any sign of Red X. Moonlight poured through the huge windows, washing over the assembled bones of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures barricaded by velvet rope. The movement of clouds in the night sky made the shadows on the floor shift ominously.</p><p>Seemingly out of nowhere, a splash of sticky red paint plastered her goggles.</p><p>"Hey!" she cried in anguish, pushing the eyewear up onto her forehead. She heard the sound of a device being fired. A rope spiraled around her, constricting her wings. She plummeted onto marble tile and was yanked to the right of the Stegosaurus exhibit. Bumblebee slid to the feet of a figure clad in a skin-tight black outfit and tattered cape. On his face he wore a smooth, white, minimalist skull mask. Keeping to his title, it had a crimson X branded in the middle of its forehead that stretched through the right eyehole.</p><p>"Anyone ever told you that you got a face like an angel?" he asked, bending down to cup her chin as she writhed on the floor.</p><p>That was a mistake.</p><p>"<em>Agh!</em>" the rogue said as he fell backwards from the force of Bumblebee's head-butt. He then found himself avoiding another onslaught of Speedy's arrows. Red X darted along the wall, the rapid-fire projectiles lodging into the stucco after each step he took.</p><p>"You okay?" asked Aqualad, appearing at Bumblebee's side.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm good," she said, starting to burn through the rope with the hot end of one of her stingers. "Just get Red X!"</p><p>Aqualad nodded and went to Speedy's aid, beckoning the water from a decorative, artificial pond to his service. He used it like a giant whip against the villain, who leapt and flipped like a trained acrobat to avoid each lash effortlessly.</p><p>"All right, that's enough," snarled Speedy, fed up with how the thief was toying with them. He pulled two heat-seeking arrows out of his quiver and leveled them at Red X.</p><p>"Careful," he remarked. "If those are what I think they are, you should reconsider using 'em. Might hit your buddy here."</p><p>Aqualad eyed the arrows and registered what was being said. He smirked. "Atlanteans are cold-blooded," he boasted. "heat-seekers don't work on us, idiot."</p><p>"Oh?" said Red X. "Silly me, I must have misread the situation."</p><p>"Read this, asshole." With that, Speedy fired the arrows at his target. They pursued a smooth line of flight right at Red X, who sprinted away. Aqualad aimed more tendrils of water at him, whipping them at his feet and nearly tripping him.</p><p>"That's getting really annoying, kid," commented X. With lightning speed, he pounced on Aqualad and tackled the boy to the floor, water falling all around them. The two struggled briefly, with X quickly realizing that the "kid" was much stronger than him. However, he wasn't trying to win a contest of strength. The arrows were fast approaching. At the critical moment, he allowed Aqualad to roll them over into a position where the Titan was on top of X, and the latter was subdued with his back against the floor.</p><p>"Al, watch out!" Speedy shouted.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>The heat-seekers sailed right into Aqualad's back. The boy cried out in pain and fell over. X pushed him off and saluted.</p><p>"Thanks for being my body shield, Mr. Cold-blooded Atlantean."</p><p>"You'll pay for that," came Bumblebee, raining her fury down onto him. She dove towards the thief, shooting energy blasts at X, who hid behind his resistant cape.</p><p>"Was wondering when you'd rejoin us, babe," he said.</p><p>"Don't call me babe," she replied, confronting the tall rogue with fierce hand-to-hand skills.</p><p>"Damn, you can fight, can't you?" he said between blocking her punches and kicks. He backed away and began shooting red laser bolts out of his gloves. She shrunk down to the size of a bee, running up the side of his arm to land a blow right across his masked face.</p><p>"Got that right," said Bumblebee, buzzing down to the front of his belt. She shot her stingers at the many buttons, attempting to short-circuit as much of the technology as she could. He batted at her with his hand, but she evaded and landed on his shoulder. Growing irritated, he engaged a tiny switch at the side of the belt, which sent a red jolt of electricity through his entire suit, effectively zapping the minuscule super-heroine off his body.</p><p>She was on the floor once more. Enlarging to normal size, she rubbed her head, finding that her edges were in disarray. Her thoughts turned murderous. <em>Oh, that is <strong>it</strong></em><strong>.</strong></p><p>Bumblebee floated to her feet, stingers blazing at her sides.</p><p>Speedy called over to her. "Hey, maybe we should try—"</p><p>She interrupted him. "Titans, tri-formation!"</p><p>Speedy frowned, but nevertheless he and Aqualad appeared behind her in a second. The three of them proceeded to carry out an elaborate attack pattern that they had practiced hundreds of times. Red X only seemed further entertained. A few minutes later, he had successfully avoided the combined force of bio-electric stings, a tidal wave, and all manner of explosive energy arrows. Was this actually getting <em>easier</em> for him<em>?</em></p><p>The three Titans panted before the villain, hands on their knees.</p><p>"Tri-formation, huh?" X joked, hanging from a large light fixture. "Cute. You guys on a cheerleading squad or something?"</p><p>A vein throbbed in Speedy's head. "Eat a dick."</p><p>X laughed. "What, tough guy can't take a joke? Lighten up, bud."</p><p>"How...does he still have so much energy?" bemoaned Aqualad. "None of what we do is working."</p><p>"Oh…" said Bumblebee between pants. "I...think...some of it...is…"</p><p>She held up a small bag that had previously been attached to Red X's belt. X looked back in surprise, and then his eyes went straight to his hip. So, she had managed to nab the goods back from him?</p><p>"Impressive," he remarked, studying her self-satisfied expression. "You're a little different than these two Einstein's here, aren't you? Still, I'm gonna ask you nicely to give those back. I gotta head out soon."</p><p>"Are you <em>kidding</em>?" she wheezed. "No way! The only place you're heading is JAIL."</p><p>"I don't think so," goaded X, thinking on his feet while also landing on them. "Man, this feels like high school. Really brings me back. We got all the main stereotypes right here..."</p><p>He pointed to Speedy - "...edgy burnout."</p><p>-then to Bumblebee - "...prom queen..."</p><p>-and finally to Aqualad - "...and theater kid."</p><p>Their sea-born teammate seemed particularly offended.</p><p>"What the heck is a 'theater kid'?" Aqualad inquired haggardly.</p><p>Speedy would have laughed. He would have, if he didn't hate Red X's guts so BLEEPing much right now.</p><p>"You're going down," said the archer, turning towards the other Titans. "Come on, hit 'em with everything you've got!"</p><p>He stared X down and began firing more arrows, tailing the villain as he ran. Aqualad and Bumblebee raced after Speedy. X drew the archer's fire towards various dinosaur exhibits. When a pair of arrows tumbled the triceratops, concern flashed across Bumblebee's face.</p><p>She started to caution him: "Speedy, be care—"</p><p>"Gee, burnout," sneered X. "I don't think you could hit the broad side of a barn."</p><p>A flurry of curses cut through the air, though they became muffled by the sound of falling bones.</p><p>"My, my, what a potty mouth."</p><p>X leapt in front of the T-Rex, another arrow coming his way. He eluded it as he had done all the others. The T-Rex, however, did not. It came crashing down, with a startled and hovering Bumblebee caught in its way.</p><p>Aqualad punched away a giant femur. "Bumblebee!"</p><p>"Crap," said Speedy, running towards her. "Come on Bee, fly away!"</p><p>She was frozen like a deer in headlights. As the dinosaur collapsed, she closed her eyes, half willing herself to make a bee line to safety and half already accepting the sensation of being squashed like a bug.</p><p>Neither happened.</p><p>Instead, she felt herself being swept to the side by strong arms. When she opened her eyes, she was gazing up into the mask of Red X, who was holding her while kneeling close to the bone-littered floor.</p><p>"What...why…?" she stammered in confusion. Comforting warmth emanated from him.</p><p>"Watch your step there, prom queen," he replied.</p><p>"Get <em>away</em> from her."</p><p>They looked over to see a furious Aqualad and an even more furious Speedy beside him.</p><p>"Oh sure, theater kid." said X. "I bet your teammate wants to try clobbering her again, right?"</p><p>Speedy clenched his fists until the knuckles turned white. She had never seen him so angry.</p><p>"Hands off, creep," commanded Bumblebee, refocusing her attention on X with dangerously narrowed eyes.</p><p>"Why?" replied X suavely. "Don't you think this is kind of roman—"</p><p>Aqualad winced as the villain hit a far wall with a loud <em>smack</em>.</p><p>"Ow," X said in monotone, getting back up. "Helluva way to thank a guy."</p><p>"I didn't <em>need </em>you to rescue me!" snapped Bumblebee.</p><p>He tsk'ed at her. "So ungrateful. Don't worry, this is thanks enough."</p><p>Her eyes widened. He held up the bag containing the jewels, displaying it to her smugly.</p><p>"Oh no," she said, breathless. <em>He must have snatched it back when he was holding me</em>, she thought, a wave of shame spreading over her. <em>And I was being too much of a starstruck idiot to notice!</em></p><p>"Oh yes," he said, tucking the bag away. "These babies will serve as a great new power source for my suit. Can't wait to see the fun I'll have when I get their energy flowing through its system." His words were spoken with all the confidence of someone who knew he could get away with the worst. He grabbed a trash can from the corner and hurled it at a window.</p><p>"Bee, get him before he escapes!" yelled Speedy. Bumblebee wielded her stingers and began to shoot, but to no avail. X's cape provided him cover, yet again.</p><p>"Look, guys, it's been real," said X. "But I think it's time for me to dip. Prom queen: when you get tired of guys who can't, ahem, <em>shoot straight, </em>call me."</p><p>He made the phone gesture with his hands before jumping out the shattered window. The three of them scrambled over to it in his wake. Predictably, they found upon peering outside that Red X had completely vanished.</p><p>"Well," said Aqualad awkwardly, his two fellow Titans teeming with rage. "That could have gone...better."</p><p>Bumblebee's wings were whirring intensely behind her as she fished out her communicator and contacted the twins.</p><p>"Encontraste al verdadero ladrón? Lo atrapaste?" they asked over the speaker.</p><p>"We found him," she said grimly. "But he got away."</p><hr/><p>Ten cop cars were waiting for them by the time they made it back outside.</p><p><em>Just great</em>, thought Bumblebee, pasting on her best smile and whizzing towards the burly, square-shouldered police chief looming over Màs and Menos. Under the cold-looking helmet she imagined an even colder face with steely eyes.</p><p>"Your teammates aren't cooperating," the man groused, tilting his chin at the twins. Más crossed his arms, wearing an insolent look on his face while his brother stuck his tongue out at the officer.</p><p>"Él está mintiendo," muttered Más.</p><p>"Ya te lo explicamos todo!" added Menos.</p><p>"What exactly do you mean, mister officer, sir?" asked Bumblebee, floating down to the ground with grace. She assumed her most diplomatic tone. It was one her team knew very well, as she had to use it quite frequently with cops who were always getting on their case.</p><p>Like this one.</p><p>"I mean they refuse to tell me what happened in <em>English</em>," he said.</p><p>"Spanish is their first language," explained Bumblebee. "They said they already explained the situation. Now that I'm here, I can just transl—"</p><p>"Let me speak to your boss," he said.</p><p>She tried not to look taken aback. Suppressing her annoyance, she replied in a firm voice, "I am the boss."</p><p>"Enough playing around, little girl," the officer ordered. "If you won't get your boss on the phone, then let me speak to one of these young gentlemen here. I'm assuming they know English too."</p><p>As he motioned to Aqualad and Speedy, Bumblebee was momentarily at a loss for words. Aqualad's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who's playing around. Everyone knows that Bumblebee is the leader of Titans East. She's a really good leader, too."</p><p>She blushed. Speedy rolled his eyes and held down vomit. <em>Suck up</em>, he thought.</p><p>The man snorted. "Everyone? You guys really think you're big time celebrities, don't you?"</p><p>"We're superheroes who live in a giant 'T.' I think it's safe to say we have a bigger reputation around here than you do," the archer remarked, digging his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket. He thought busying them that way would prevent them from strangling the man.</p><p>"<em>Speedy</em>," hissed Bumblebee. "Um, please, officer...we just want to report back on what happened. As you can see, we captured one of the thieves…"</p><p>She motioned towards the disgruntled Andre Leblanc still wrapped up in Speedy's net.</p><p>"<em>One</em> of the thieves?" the officer repeated.</p><p>Bumblebee summoned all her inner strength to push forward with the <em>whole </em>explanation.</p><p>"Yes," she said, sounding apologetic but also not ashamed. "We fought and apprehended Leblanc, thinking that he had the stolen Daxamite jewels in his possession. It turned out that he had just been paid off by the actual thief to distract us."</p><p>"And who is this actual thief?"</p><p>"His name is Red X," she said, looking straight into the opaque, shiny blue screen shielding the officer's eyes. "He got away."</p><p>"Really," he replied. "I'm assuming 'Red X' is also responsible for all the damage that I'm going to see when I walk into that museum?"</p><p>"Well," she said, carefully choosing her words. "It <em>is</em> true that he damaged a lot of—"</p><p>"I wrecked some stuff by accident too," Speedy cut in, unable to stand her mentally debating how to cover for him. "A couple dino exhibits. I'm sorry."</p><p>The officer sighed. "And the Diximate jewels?"</p><p>Bumblebee felt like her lungs were tied in a knot. She took a shaky breath and responded in an even tone: "Red X got away with them. Don't worry. The Titans East are going to track him down and get them back."</p><p>To her immense chagrin, he started laughing.</p><p>"Ha...hahaha," said the officer, his chuckles fading dryly. "ha...<em>yeah</em>. That story could be probable. But you know what's more probable? That you brats made the whole thing up and nabbed the jewels yourself."</p><p>The Titans were incredulous.</p><p>"Estas loco?" asked Menos indignantly.</p><p>"I'm sorry, officer," reasoned Bumblebee as calmly as she could. "but that's just ridiculous."</p><p>"I bet you're the little ring leader of this merry band of thieves, too," he told her.</p><p>"<em>Excuse</em> me<em>?</em>" she said. "I've never stolen a thing in my life!"</p><p>Bumblebee's mind swarmed with outrage. <em>I guess I'm only the boss when we're being accused of a crime</em>.</p><p>"Then why are you so nervous?" he challenged.</p><p>Her shoulders stiffened as she felt electricity barely prick at her fingertips. "I'm not."</p><p>"You are. We're going to have to search all of you and take you downtown for further questioning."</p><p>"What? No! We're not criminals!" pleaded Bumblebee. "You have to believe us!"</p><p>"I'm going to have to ask you to control your anger, ma'am," he replied. "And lower your voice. Your hostility isn't making you look less suspicious."</p><p>"Back off," Speedy warned, stepping between Bumblebee and the officer.</p><p>Aqualad also came to her defense. "She's not being hostile. She's telling you the truth. Red X got away with the jewels. The ones whose name you can't even <em>pronounce </em>correctly. We're the ones who fought him. We know why he wants them. And we'll know the best way to track him."</p><p>The officer remained unconvinced.</p><p>"You know, you Titans are some real characters," he said. "You take the law into your own hands and destroy massive amounts of public property doing it. You say that you're helping people, but in the end you just use heroics as a cover to help yourselves. And you think we <em>rightful</em> upholders of the law were born yesterday. As if I'd believe some cockamamie story like the one you just fed me! Hand over the Doximute jewels, <em>now</em>."</p><p>"No hemos robado nada!" argued Más. "Y ellos se llaman <em>'Daxamite' </em>jewels!"</p><p>"Speak English, kid," said the man.</p><p>"Don't order him around," interjected Speedy. "You can't force someone to talk the way you want them to."</p><p>"I can if they're obstructing justice, and he is. All of you are," the man shot back.</p><p>"You're a joke," scoffed Speedy. "We're not obstructing squat."</p><p>"This <em>badge</em> is no joke," the officer said, pointing to the gleaming hexagonal plate emblazoned on the breast of his armored uniform.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm real scared."</p><p>"Watch your mouth, son, before I arrest you for antagonizing an agent of law enforcement."</p><p>The man reached out to place a stern hand on Speedy's shoulder, something the teen did not appreciate in the least.</p><p>"I'm <em>not </em>your son," he said darkly, tearing the cop's hand off of him.</p><p>The officer got in Speedy's face, and the boy did not look like he was going to back down any time soon. Bumblebee quickly inserted herself between the two, lightly holding them apart.</p><p>"Please, let's not fight," she said gently.</p><p>"Don't <em>touch</em> me," growled the cop, aggressively pushing the girl to the side.</p><p>"You <em>dirtbag.</em>"</p><p>Bumblebee and Aqualad latched onto Speedy's arms to restrain their livid teammate. Más and Menos looked on with bewildered expressions. At that moment, a taller man in a more prestigious-looking police uniform walked up to the scene. He made an austere, throat-clearing noise at the other officer. The shorter man turned his head sharply, only to shrink when he saw who was standing next to him.</p><p>"Commissioner!" the officer said in attention.</p><p>"What's going on here, officer?" the other man asked.</p><p>"Uh-um, these kids stole the Duximote jewels from the museum!"</p><p>"No they didn't," he replied. "Red X did. And it's pronounced 'Daxamite.'"</p><p>The cop was speechless. The Titans also stared wordlessly at the commissioner, with Speedy having regained a little of his composure.</p><p>"We just got some reports of a figure in black cutting through the east side," the senior officer explained. "He was coming from the direction of the museum. Has some kind of souped-up belt that keeps short-circuiting. Is also wearing a white mask with a red 'X' on it."</p><p>Bumblebee nodded. "That's him."</p><p>The commissioner addressed her specifically. "We also got word that he stole another set of Daxamite jewels from a research facility in Gotham. Any idea why he's collecting these jewels in particular?"</p><p>"Their geologic composition makes them a powerful energy source for his suit," she explained. "I did some research a few minutes ago, and it turns out that the jewels can be compressed into a fuel ten times stronger than the Xenothium that originally powered it. I also suspect his belt is on the fritz because I managed to damage it in battle."</p><p>"I see," he said. "So you've fought him before?"</p><p>"Not us, specifically," she replied. "But he's listed in our records as a general adversary of the Teen Titans. He's a very dangerous criminal."</p><p>"Hmm," noted the commissioner. "I guess you all should get to the east side so you can help my boys catch this guy. I sent a squad of cars after the perp a little while ago. But I don't think they know what they're up against."</p><p>Bumblebee was puzzled by his tone. He certainly sounded more level-headed than the lower-ranking cop, but she still didn't think her team had the commissioner's trust. In fact, she didn't trust <em>him</em> either. But she did want this conversation to end ASAP so the Titans could get back to business.</p><p>"Yes," she replied. "We'll do that."</p><p>"Good. I trust you'll have no problem tuning into the police transmission."</p><p>"What about all the stuff you guys destroyed in there?" asked the other officer, pointing to the museum.</p><p>"We'll pay for it," said Bumblebee.</p><p>The man snorted again. "Really?" he asked jokingly. "How? You kids gonna pool your trust funds together? Or are you gonna ask for a handout from the Wayne Foundation?"</p><p>Speedy's eye twitched.</p><p>"Enough," said the commissioner. "We'll figure that out later. Let's get going. All of us."</p><p>His subordinate grumbled nasty things under his breath as the cops dispersed, dragging Leblanc with them. Once the men were out of hearing distance, Aqualad turned to his teammates.</p><p>"Well that was rude," he said, crossing his arms. "The commissioner didn't even make that guy apologize for accusing us of theft."</p><p>"That's because he doesn't actually care," snapped Speedy. "He doesn't respect us. He's no better than his lackey - just more of an opportunist. He wants us to help them out now, but he won't hesitate to throw us under the freakin' bus when we stop being useful."</p><p>Bumblebee touched Speedy's arm. "While that may be true, it doesn't matter. Fighting crime is what we do. We have to help them catch Red X."</p><p>Speedy jerked away from her and glared. "You mean your boyfriend?"</p><p>She returned his expression. "What are you talking about?"</p><p>"Oh, don't give me that," he said. "You know, if you weren't so busy getting saved by that jerk he wouldn't have had a chance to get the jewels back."</p><p>Bumblebee's face contorted between anger and embarrassment. "Well, maybe if <em>you</em> hadn't been so trigger happy with those arrows the T-Rex wouldn't have nearly crushed me, and Red X wouldn't have <em>had</em> to save me! Oh, and we also wouldn't owe the museum, like, a million dollars!"</p><p>"I thought you said you didn't need him to save you," Speedy countered. "When do you need anyone to save you, period? You're always bragging about how much of an amazing flier you are, on top of being SO amazing at everything else. Why didn't you just evade it?"</p><p>She chewed on her lip. "I...I was going to! I just froze for a second, okay!"</p><p>"You froze?" he repeated, laughing dryly. "Imagine that. The confident, perfect leader of Titans East <em>froze</em>. Guess you're not as good as you think, huh?"</p><p>"Speedy," Aqualad said his name in warning.</p><p>"What, fish boy?" he said. "You weren't any better, getting hit with those heat-seekers like a total amateur."</p><p>"<em>Well</em>," Aqualad replied in a caustic tone. "maybe if you could shoot straight—"</p><p>"It doesn't matter if I shoot <em>those</em> straight!" Speedy said, voice rising. "They're heat-seekers! They seek the heat in the target, and they're not even supposed to work on you! Yet you managed to somehow get hit anyway!"</p><p>"Para de discutir!" begged Menos.</p><p>"Nosotros tenemos que ir tras Red X!" his brother said.</p><p>"Yeah, come on," said Bumblebee. "This is what Red X wants: for us to fight among ourselves and be divided."</p><p>"Well, happy birthday to him," Speedy muttered.</p><p>"Ugh," she groaned. "Why do you always have to be so difficult?"</p><p>"Me?" he asked agitatedly. "Why do <em>you</em> always have to be so bossy?"</p><p>She stomped her foot against the asphalt. "Because <em>I'm</em> the boss! If you're on <em>my</em> team, you follow <em>my </em>orders!"</p><p>"Okay," he said, the eyes of his mask turning into slits. "Then I won't be on this team. I quit!"</p><p>Aqualad, Más, and Menos jolted in place. Bumblebee didn't look fazed.</p><p>"Fine with me," she said, turning her back to him, wings vibrating with resent.</p><p>"Have fun finding your boyfriend without me," Speedy sneered. "Maybe if you catch the guy you can ask him to join Titans East as my replacement."</p><p>With that, he stormed off. The twins looked heartbroken. Also distraught, Aqualad gazed at Bumblebee, who avoided his eyes so that he wouldn't see the tears welling up in hers.</p><hr/><p>The four of them turned the east side of the city upside down looking for Red X. They searched until not a single cop car trailed after them.</p><p>They didn't find him. Despite all Bumblebee's high-tech know-how and analytical skill, Speedy was definitely the better tracker on the team.</p><p>She did, however, lead the other three in disarming several X-marked "presents" the thief had left behind around town. In the process they saved many clueless, but still largely ungrateful, police officers. They did receive many more thanks from civilians: microscopic victories amidst a massive sense of defeat. At dawn, they finally headed home, having to accept failure in their search for the time being.</p><p><em>So much for being the "best" ones to track him, </em>Bumblebee thought miserably.</p><p>Speedy was still nowhere to be found.</p><p>The day after their late night troubles was a rare one; it was 5 PM and the tower alert system hadn't sounded once. Perhaps the other super-villains had all collectively decided to take a sick leave. None of the Titans East were complaining about the unexpected down time, though.</p><p>Still, Bumblebee had gotten up at 7 AM for her morning work-out, running on worryingly little sleep. Afterwards, she had showered, did her hair, and dressed in her suit as usual. When several uneventful hours - full of nothing but doing household chores - passed, she decided to give in and change into normal clothes. She had then busied herself with several made-up chores. She washed and buffed the Wasp, recalibrated the tower security system, alphabetized all their cookbooks (none of which had ever been used), color-coded their CD collection, and performed many other unnecessary tasks. She was now in her room, Waynetube open on her phone, trying to follow a hair tutorial playing on the screen. Más and Menos were still sleeping. Aqualad was scrubbing dead algae from the bottom of his pool. He could tell she didn't feel much like talking today and was giving her space.</p><p>"Ugh, why won't you stay <em>put</em>, hair," she said as if her type-4 curls were sentient.</p><p>As the chipper beauty guru prattled on about how "fun" and "simple" the hairstyle currently being attempted was, Bumblebee found herself wondering how desperate she was to get her mind off the events of last night.</p><p>"Make sure you have a toothbrush handy!" sang the girl in a way that was so happy, it was creepy. "Oh, I just LOVE this look for spring. It's so—"</p><p>Miss kinky-haired sunshine was interrupted by the shrill sound of Bumblebee's ringtone. It nearly made her drop her "handy" toothbrush. She looked down to see who was calling, then answered and put the phone on speaker.</p><p>"Hey Sparky," she greeted Cyborg gloomily.</p><p>"Bee?" he said. "You sound like you just got done attending a funeral."</p><p>"I didn't attend any funeral," she replied. "but I do want to die."</p><p>"Uhhh?"</p><p>"We let Red X get away with some Daxamite jewels last night," she said. "Also, Speedy quit the team."</p><p>"Okaaay," Cyborg said. "One of those things sounds way worse than the other."</p><p>Bumblebee sighed. "Yeah."</p><p>"Well...this is probably a bad time to let you know I'll be heading over to Steel next week to help y'all install some new security tech," he said.</p><p>She stared at the phone. "Also yeah."</p><p>There was a pregnant pause.</p><p>"You're still mad at him, aren't you?" Cyborg finally asked.</p><p>"You just keep hitting the nail on the head, don't you?" she said, trying to sound lighthearted, but her tone soon reverted back to morose. "...we got into a pretty bad argument."</p><p>"Seems like you two are always getting into arguments."</p><p>She pouted. "Yeah, well, I suppose that should be a sign that we're not meant to work on the same team. Some people are just incompatible, right?"</p><p>"I guess," mused Cyborg. "Or it should be a sign that both of you have huge, unchecked egos that aren't worth maintaining if it means losing a friend."</p><p>"I have an ego?" she asked, half-piqued, half-amused. "You don't even know what happened."</p><p>"I said <em>both </em>of you," answered Cyborg. "And I don't need to know what happened to know that when those egos clash...yikes. I mean I still remember the first time y'all met…"</p><p>She cringed at the memory.</p><p>"You got a point to make, Sparky?"</p><p>"I'm just saying that you're supposed to fight the bad guys, not your teammates."</p><p>Bumblebee bristled. "Tell that to him. He's the one who started it. He always starts it. I mean, if he could just shut up and do what I say, we wouldn't have anything to fight about."</p><p>"Bee," said Cyborg. "You're the leader of Titans East. Not its supreme overlord."</p><p>"You don't understand!" Bumblebee said, face reddening. "He put me in danger. Put us all in danger. He barely ever listens to me, is always rude and disrespectful...he can't even remember not to wipe his dirty boots over our kitchen counter!"</p><p>"Yeah, he can be a thoughtless jerk," said Cyborg. "But I know that you still care about him. And that he cares about you."</p><p>"He sure has a funny way of showing it."</p><p>"Listen," he continued. "It's hard enough learning to work together as a team, but to live with the people you work with? Y'all are bound to butt heads. A lot. I can tell you firsthand that Robin and I had our fair share of shouting matches during our first year as a team. Sometimes we still have them. But usually, a big part of the animosity stems from personal anxieties and insecurities, not an actual dislike of the other person."</p><p>She squeezed the handle of the toothbrush. "Are you saying this is all in my head?"</p><p>"No," Cyborg said steadily. "Another big part of it stems from how much we all care about what we do. And I know you care a truck-load, Bee. You got a lot on your shoulders as leader. I know you have to put up with types of judgment and responsibility that Robin doesn't."</p><p>"Yes," Bumblebee said, her voice shaky. "I wish <em>some</em> people could understand that instead of just calling me a bossy cheerleader all the time."</p><p>"Guys get called authoritative and girls get called bossy," he confirmed. "It's messed up - no argument there. Speedy should definitely stop being such a pig and respect your leadership more. But to be fair, you do <em>call yourself</em> bossy."</p><p>"No, I call myself <em>the boss</em>," she said. "'Cus it's what I am. You made me the boss, didn't you? It's my rightful position."</p><p>Cyborg sighed. "I think y'all misunderstood me in the beginning. Bee, I didn't make you anything. You didn't need me too. You already had a vision and a work ethic that made you go for the role of leader when no one else would step up. I just recognized that and put forth my good word. I think any fuss over who got made 'the boss' has made you forget that. 'Sides, there's a difference between being seen as the boss and being seen as a leader. Though I know you still a Boss B, girl."</p><p>The way his tone crescendoed in that playful, cheesy manner of his made her smile. She hadn't done that all day.</p><p>"Thanks, Sparky," she said appreciatively, thinking over what he had said. "I wish Speedy could be as reasonable."</p><p>"He's probably a lot more reasonable than you think," offered Cyborg. "The guy's got as bad of a temper and pride as any of us. But as much as he can grind your gears, it's always good to see where the other person's coming from."</p><p>"Again, tell that to him," she said.</p><p>"You should tell each other. One of you has got to communicate. After a certain point, it shouldn't matter who does it first."</p><p>Bumblebee bitterly fixed her hair in the mirror. She despised when he was right.</p><p>"It doesn't even matter," she said. "He quit already. He's gone."</p><p>"Yeah," chuckled Cyborg. "Back in the day I 'quit' a couple times, too. He'll be back."</p><p>Her eyes became misty.</p><p>"I just…" Bumblebee uttered softly. "I just hate being the one to teach people all the time. I always have to be the strong one. I always have to be the bigger person. But what about my feelings? I feel hurt and doubt myself just like every other human being. I'm not...invincible. If I show a single weakness, or mess up, or make a bad judgment or too, does that mean my entire credibility as a team leader should be put into question?"</p><p>"Of course not, Bee," Cyborg replied, thoughtful as ever. "Acknowledging your mistakes, your poor judgments - that's what makes you an even better leader. Better person, too. Also, resolving problems doesn't have to be about one person instructing the other. It can be about two people doing an equal amount of work to learn together. And an essential part of learning is allowing yourself to be vulnerable."</p><p>"But," she said. "I'm their leader. I can't be—"</p><p>"You can be and you are," he said. "You said it yourself. You're not invincible. And you're not just the leader of the Titans East. You're their friend too. No team member, or friend, is above or below another. If you feel all these things, why don't you let them know? They shouldn't hold it against you."</p><p>"Speedy already did."</p><p>"And he probably has spent the last - what? - eight hours knowing that he was wrong for it."</p><p>There was a pause on her end. She exhaled slowly and heavily.</p><p>"<em>Ugggghhhhhhh</em>…"</p><p>"Sounds like you know I'm right."</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, Sparky," she said with a grin. "Now, why do you have to install new tech in our tower again? You know <em>I</em> keep our systems more advanced and updated than you ever could."</p><p>"Uh <em>huh</em>," he replied. "And you really had to ask if you had an ego."</p><p>"Look, I'm just sayin'—oh, shoot. I'm getting a text from Aqualad to come downstairs, ASAP. Could be an emergency. This city's been suspiciously quiet all day."</p><p>"No worries," he said. "Go kick butt."</p><p>"I always do," she said, and then reconsidered her words. "We always do. Thanks for the advice. Talk to you later!"</p><p>"No problem. And aite, peace."</p><p>They hung up and Bumblebee quickly finished doing her hair, shoved her phone in her shorts pocket and headed out the door.</p><p><em>When did Sparky become such a sage?</em> Bumblebee wondered as she ran through the hallway. She looked down at her phone. Aqualad's message was bright across the screen: "Need you down here. Now."</p><p>She was so focused on the text that she didn't see who was also walking around the corner when she turned it.</p><p>"OUCH!"</p><p>"AYY!"</p><p>Both individuals recoiled after having collided painfully. They then met each other's startled eyes, momentarily speechless.</p><p><em>Speedy?</em> she thought, dumbfounded at the sight of him.</p><p>The boy in question smoothed out his plaid red shirt. Though it was loose-fitting, she could still faintly make out the definition of muscled arms under its long sleeves. The shirt was unbuttoned over a worn white band tee tucked messily into straight-legged black jeans, which were cuffed over large, black work boots covered with scuff marks. A long chain hung from his pocket, and the camo cap he normally sported on his ginger head was turned backwards. Weirdly, seeing him like this made her want to smile. She didn't see him in "casual" attire often, even though his hero outfit definitely mixed elements of casual and battle-ready. Regardless of what he wore, his style was always the same: something between a punk and an outdoorsman.</p><p>He smelled like pine aftershave.</p><p>"Hey," Speedy said finally.</p><p>"Hey," she said back.</p><p>"I like your hair."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>Reflexively, her hand went to the pair of mini space buns on which she had worked painstakingly for the past hour.</p><p>"Oh, umm," she replied awkwardly, flouncing the rest of her hair - which was in the form of twist-out curls splayed around her face. "Thanks."</p><p>From behind his dark red mask he watched her shift uncomfortably from one leg to the other. It was strange to see her so nervous. Even when she was in civilian clothes she was usually as confident and on top of things as she would be wearing her armored costume.</p><p>"So…" said Bumblebee. "When did you get back?"</p><p>"A couple hours ago," he answered. "Just got done showering and stuff. You guys been having a slow day?"</p><p>She nodded and shrugged. "Guess even super-villain scum need a day off once in a while."</p><p>"Ha, yeah," Speedy said, attempting a smile. It quickly faded.</p><p>"Look, Bee..." he began.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she said suddenly.</p><p>He made a confused face.</p><p>"<em>You're</em> sorry?" he asked. "Why the heck are you sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry. I acted like a jackass last night."</p><p>Her mouth fell open slightly. <em>Someone get me a coat</em>, she thought. <em>Hell has truly frozen over.</em> He took her amazed silence as cue to continue speaking.</p><p>"I should...be a lot more careful when we're out in the field," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Making sure your teammates...your <em>friends</em> are safe is more important than bagging the baddie. There's no excuse for what I did at the museum. I lost my cool and put you in danger when I shouldn't have...even if it was to take down that colossal dickhead."</p><p>Bumblebee's expression became gentle.</p><p>"I appreciate your apology," she said, hazel eyes twinkling.</p><p>"Good, 'cus I got more."</p><p>She folded her arms. "Oh?"</p><p>"I'm also…" he said, now sounding like each word spoken was like a tooth pulled. "Sorry for blaming you about Red X getting away."</p><p>Bumblebee's gaze dropped down to the floor. "Well, you were right about that. I should have been more mindful. I shouldn't have let him steal the jewels back."</p><p>"You wouldn't have been in that position if it weren't for me," reasoned Speedy. "And who cares, honestly? So the dude nabbed the jewels from you and got away. Big deal."</p><p>"If you haven't noticed, Speedy," she said. "We're superheroes. We're not supposed to let the bad guys get away."</p><p>"True, but it's going to happen once in a while," he replied. "The good guys don't always win. That's just life. No use beating ourselves up about it."</p><p>She looked pensive for a little bit. He stared at her wordlessly, and she could feel his white cloth eyes boring a hole through the top of her head.</p><p>"I guess you think that I'm pretty uptight," she said finally. "That I like to order people around a lot."</p><p>"Well, yeah," said Speedy. "But I should listen to you more. You're...our leader. I should show you the respect you deserve."</p><p>"No, but," her face snapped back up at him. "I shouldn't treat you guys like you're lesser than me. Like you have to do things just because I say so. That's not how a good leader should act...a good leader treats everyone like their equal, and takes into account everyone's perspective."</p><p>Now it was Speedy's turn to look stunned.</p><p>"Uh, yeah..." he said tentatively. "You do tend to always be on, umm—"</p><p>"A power trip?" she finished for him, smirking.</p><p>He frowned. "Fish boy's mouth is as big as his feet."</p><p>She hummed lightly. "You have to admit, Al is a good mediator."</p><p>"Whatever," Speedy said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Listen, there's one more thing I want to apologize for."</p><p>Bumblebee cocked her head to the side and prepared herself. Judging from the haughty look on his face, this last apology was the most torturous one.</p><p>"I'm…" he said slowly. "...sorry for cleaning my boots on the kitchen counter. I...won't do it again. I mean it this time."</p><p>She blinked.</p><p>Then, she burst out laughing.</p><p>If he had been confused by Bumblebee a mere seconds ago, now Speedy was just straight-up concerned for her mental health.</p><p>"Umm?" he asked, sounding a little frightened as she keeled over to hold her stomach. "You good?"</p><p>"Oh, oh man…" she said, wiping a tear away. "Bruh, I'm <em>weak</em>. I...really...really needed to laugh."</p><p>"You also obviously need bed rest."</p><p>"So do you, I'm sure," she replied, straightening her posture. "Anyway, thanks for that. But since you're giving me so many apologies, let me give you an offer."</p><p>Speedy raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."</p><p>She took a deep breath.</p><p>"Aqualad has mentioned that we should probably distribute the space better around here," she said, chewing on the inside of her mouth. "And I know my lab takes up a pretty big portion of the garage. I, uh, really don't need all that room to work. And I know that you need a place to work on your arrows and other equipment, so I—I thought maybe we could repurpose half of the garage into a space for you to do that...and you could eat in there too, but definitely NOTHING too messy—not that I'm trying to tell you what to do—or give you charity—I mean, if you don't think it's a good idea, I <em>totally</em> understand—"</p><p>Speedy placed his left hand on her shoulder. "Chill, boss lady."</p><p>At his touch, she felt goosebumps erupt all along her skin.</p><p>"I think that's a great idea," he said comfortingly. "Now quit acting all jittery. It's not like you. Creeps me out."</p><p>Bumblebee sighed. "I just don't want you to keep seeing me as someone who thinks she's always right. Like—like that cop last night. I mean, what if someone looks at me and thinks I'm just as bad? I mean, I bet you—"</p><p>"Woah, what?" Speedy exclaimed, shocked. "No way, dude. I don't think that at all. Anyone who does is an idiot."</p><p>She didn't say anything. Speedy placed his right hand on her other shoulder and looked deep into her eyes.</p><p>"Look, I don't like the cops in this city," he said. "Neither do you. In fact, you've got way more reason to not like 'em than I do. So don't make messed-up false comparisons like that, okay? You can be bossy sometimes. You don't try to screw over innocent people. If you ask me, it's pretty easy to tell the difference. Right?"</p><p>Her breathing had become shallow. Bumblebee didn't think they'd ever been that physically close to one another, outside of getting violently flung at each other by some giant tentacle monster. She was so close that she could count every freckle sprinkled across his nose.</p><p>She was only able to muster a wide-eyed nod. The awkwardness of the moment catching up to him, Speedy abruptly rescinded his hands.</p><p>"Good," he said curtly. "Unfortunately, as long as we're Teen Titans we'll still have to work with those assholes to a degree. But you already know that."</p><p>"Yup," she said in a resigned tone. "Though we can mull over that later. Right now, we should get downstairs."</p><p>"Why?" he asked.</p><p>"Don't know, exactly," she replied. "Al has some sort of emergency."</p><p>"Of course he does."</p><p>Bumblebee laughed - this time in a way that didn't make Speedy think she was a lunatic - and put her hands on her hips. He noticed how well they filled out her light-washed mom shorts. The denim bottoms provided an effective contrast to the baggy black t-shirt she had tucked into them, along with the white, slightly too-long-sleeved turtleneck she wore under it. A diminutive row of daisies was embroidered in the center of her tee. Pink nails, hoop earrings, yellow socks, and chunky white sneakers helped christen the outfit as undeniably her: simultaneously feminine and tomboyish. Street but sweet.</p><p>"Come on," said Bumblebee. "We gotta help a friend in need, don't we?"</p><p>He gave her a lopsided grin. "Sure."</p><hr/><p>"Took you long enough," said Aqualad when he heard the sound of the common room doors open. He turned around to see Bumblebee and Speedy standing side by side, the latter looking like his typical, relaxed self.</p><p>"Speedy," he stated, surprised. "Where—what—uh, did you just get back?"</p><p>"Been here for a few hours," his ex-ex-teammate said listlessly.</p><p>"I didn't hear you come in."</p><p>"It's called stealth, fish boy."</p><p>"Speedy!" Más and Menos yelled in unison. The two racing space-ships visible on the tower's jumbo, ultra-wide panoramic TV instantly crashed into each other. Very few things could pull the twins away from their game station, and seeing their teammate after the lousy night they all had had was one of them. In the blink of an eye, the two had sprinted up to their much-missed friend.</p><p>"Ugh, HEY," he struggled as they zipped around him, hugging and giving noogies and affectionately messing with his hat. "Would you just—I can't—don't make me—QUIT IT."</p><p>"Parece que ha vuelto a la normalidad," Más commented cheekily.</p><p>"Sabía que realmente no te irías! Nos extrañarías demasiado!" said Menos, plucking the hat from Speedy's head.</p><p>"I don't know what any of that means," threatened Speedy, yanking Más off his back and flinging Menos to the side. "But I know you're gonna get ya lil asses beat if you don't GIVE ME THAT HAT BACK."</p><p>"Ooooh, estamos temblando," Mas said.</p><p>"Intenta atraparnos primero, tough guy," Menos added with a smirk. He and his brother effortlessly sidestepped the older boy when he lunged at them.</p><p>"That's it," Speedy grumbled. "I'm quitting the team again."</p><p>Aqualad and Bumblebee both chuckled. As Speedy wrestled with the twins, Aqualad turned to their team leader, looking thoughtful.</p><p>"I take it you guys are...cool?" he asked, brows furrowed.</p><p>Despite herself, she beamed. "Frosty."</p><p>He nodded, features smoothing out with relief. "I'm glad."</p><p>"So," she asked. "What's the big emergency?"</p><p>Aqualad held his hands behind his back innocently and swayed from side-to-side; it made her think a halo would appear over his head at any second. His blue kimono-style jacket billowed gracefully with each movement.</p><p>"I didn't know what to order for dinner," he said.</p><p>She feigned annoyance. "Really?"</p><p>"Mhm," he replied, smiling serenely. "I thought helping me decide between our favorite pizza and Chinese places might lift your spirits a little. But it seems you're in a better mood already."</p><p>"I might be getting there."</p><p>"Screw ordering in," said Speedy, tossing Más across the room while Menos rode the archer like a bull. "We're going out."</p><p>He grabbed his cap from the negative-named brother and slammed him down onto the floor. Aqualad cast Speedy a peeved look.</p><p>"And where exactly are we going?" the Atlantean asked.</p><p>"Mijo's," answered Speedy, placing his cap back on his head.</p><p>"Why?" said Aqualad, befuddled by his teammate's choice. "We only go there when there's something to celebrate."</p><p>"There's plenty to celebrate," he said. "We beat Red X, after all."</p><p>Now all of them, except for Speedy, looked befuddled.</p><p>"I think the lack of sleep is getting to you, Speedy," said Aqualad. "Or don't you remember we got our butts handed to us by that guy? We didn't even get close to catching him afterwards, either."</p><p>"We didn't need to catch him to beat him," Speedy replied, reaching into one of his jeans pockets. "We just needed to catch this."</p><p>When he held out the item he had retrieved, they all gasped.</p><p>"The jewels!" Bumblebee rejoiced, marveling at the bag in his hand.</p><p>"Hell yeah," he tossed it over to her. "Consider them part of my apology for bailing last night."</p><p>Aqualad was astounded. "But how?" he asked.</p><p>"Turns out Red X ditched the east side for the south side. I was chilling by the docks when I ran into him. We fought for a little bit and I took a pounding, but I still managed to swipe the goods back. Then he jacked a boat and got away. His suit was busted up real bad, and he seemed pretty pissed. I figure we'll see him a gain."</p><p>"Wow," said Aqualad, actually seeming impressed with him for once. "Good job."</p><p>"Thanks, Al," replied Speedy. "Sorry I gave you such a hard time last night."</p><p>The other teen regained his serene smile. "It's okay. I don't think it was as bad as being called 'a theater kid.' Whatever that is."</p><p>"Yeah," said Speedy. "You're way more of a prom queen type, anyway."</p><p>Aqualad turned his nose up and flipped his hair over his shoulder. "I don't know what a prom queen is either, but I completely agree."</p><p>"Tu puedes ser su prom <em>king</em>," said Más, pointing at Speedy, which spurred a giggle from his brother.</p><p>"Yeah, you can be my king, Speedy," said Aqualad flirtatiously, draping his arm over the freckled boy, who promptly pushed him away.</p><p>"You wish, kelp-breath," he said. "I'm outta your league."</p><p>"Excuse me? I think you have that reversed."</p><p>Watching their antics, Bumblebee felt like she might burst with joy. It was a scene of genuine happiness among good teammates, and even greater friends. Warmth seemed to permeate through the entire room.</p><p>"Hell-<em>o,</em>" she said, calling the four boys' attention. "Are we getting tacos or what?"</p><p>Más and Menos jumped up and down excitedly, chanting "Sí, sí!"</p><p>Aqualad raised his pointer finger. "As long as everyone remembers—"</p><p>"No fish tacos," said Speedy, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, you've told us a billion times. And we never get them."</p><p>"Well you can always do with a reminder," he said, and then caught sight of Bumblebee, who looked a little dazed. "Are you feeling alright, Bee?"</p><p>His voice pulled her out of her reverie. "Yeah...I was just thinking…"</p><p>"About?" inquired Aqualad.</p><p>"I was just thinking that our team is..." she reflected aloud. "a lot different from Sparky's."</p><p>"If by different, you mean better," he replied, much to everyone's surprise.</p><p>"Well, they're technically the originals—"</p><p>"Oh come on, Bee," said Speedy. "Original doesn't always mean the best. And different doesn't always mean bad. I mean, who wants to be the same as those clean-cut, G-rated beaver scouts anyway?"</p><p>She laughed. "I know different doesn't mean bad. I only like pointing out how different we are because these garbage magazines are always saying that we're just cheap imitation Titans."</p><p>"Nunca saben de qué están hablando," said Menos.</p><p>"Yeah," Aqualad agreed. "For one, we're clearly better dressed."</p><p>"Claro está," Más chimed in. "Mira este <em>drip!</em>"</p><p>He gestured to Menos's sweatsuit and bucket hat combo while his brother gestured to Más's floral patterned button-up, accessorized with a cross-body belt bag.</p><p>"Es fresh, no?" Menos said, waggling his eyebrows.</p><p>That elicited another laugh from their cherished leader.</p><p>"Very," she said.</p><p>"All right," Speedy interjected. "If we're all done with the warm fuzzies, I'd like to get some tacos before my adrenaline runs out and I crash on the spot. I <em>have </em>been up for over twenty-four hours, y'know."</p><p>"I'm with him," said Aqualad. "Let's get these tacos."</p><p>"I'll drive."</p><p>"No way, Speedy."</p><p>"Fish boy, we won't get there until tomorrow if you drive."</p><p>"You're way too tired to drive!"</p><p>"I'm good for a few more hours."</p><p>"It's not safe!"</p><p>"Why don't you try living life on the edge once in a while?"</p><p>"You're insane. I'm driving and that's final."</p><p>Bumblebee tucked the bag of jewels away, glad that they were going out since she could drop the items off at the police station on the way to Mijo's. She was also glad that they were going to Mijo's, because she couldn't wait to share a plate of nachos with the group of people beside her. It felt like a particularly bizarre revelation, but she realized that, at her current stage in life, these four boys could actually become some of the best friends she'd ever had. Seriously, how'd <em>that </em>happen so fast?</p><p>Speedy continued to bicker with Aqualad as the five of them walked to the garage, the twins thoroughly entertained by the two older boys.</p><p>Despite the many squabbles - past, present, and future - there was one thing on which they could all agree: many things set Titans East apart from Titans West, and, in the former's opinion, a cut above as well.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong> <em>Two Months Ago</em> </strong>
</p><p>Cyborg dolefully examined the charred hole in his sweatshirt.</p><p>"Bee!" he lamented. "This is brand new!"</p><p>"Oops, sorry," Bumblebee apologized, quickly lowering her smoking, B-shaped inventions. He glared at the sheepish girl standing in front of a tall, clear glass case. Inside it was a mannequin wearing a high-necked, sleeveless black cat-suit connected to shiny black boots of moderate heel height. The costume had an armored gold bodice, and holsters for the weapons in her hands were strapped around each thigh. Attached to the mannequin's back were mechanical, gossamer wings that gleamed with a soft rainbow of colors under the lab's bright lights.</p><p>"Look," Cyborg said in a hardened tone. "Those are some cool new toys, but you might wanna work on your <em>aim</em>."</p><p>"If you need help with aim, then I'm your guy."</p><p>The two of them glanced over to see a slim, masked boy in the doorway of the garage. He looked smug in a black and red bodysuit accented with knee-pads and durable black boots. A red hood, connected to the suit, was pulled over his head. Additionally, he wore a loose denim jacket over the tight ensemble. It exhibited a few patches that looked quite worn, as well as what looked like more sophisticated bead, stitch, and feather work trailing down over the front of its shoulders and lapel. The bill of a faded camo cap stuck out from his hood.</p><p>"Speedy!" exclaimed Cyborg happily. "So Rob gave you the right coordinates after all, huh?"</p><p>He walked up to the other boy and they bumped fists. Bumblebee didn't seem quite as ecstatic.</p><p>"Hey," joked Speedy. "What would pigeon say if he heard that you were doubting his sense of navigation?"</p><p>"Probably an over-serious earful," Cyborg quipped in return. "Anyway, it's good to see you."</p><p>Speedy put on a cocky grin. "Well, when you said this new team of yours could use a master archer on it, I had to come to the rescue."</p><p>Cyborg crossed his arms and smirked. "That ain't exactly what I said, but yeah, great to have you here."</p><p>Bumblebee appeared suddenly beside Cyborg and held her hand out to the stranger, having placed her "toys" on the work table behind them.</p><p>"Hi, I'm Bumblebee," she said, straightforward and confident.</p><p>Speedy took a moment to look the girl up and down. She was fit, had rich brown skin and was wearing a long-sleeved black and yellow, midriff-bearing, mini-skirted get-up. Her hair was done in two sizable afro-puffs and her delicate, dainty edges were laid perfectly.</p><p>She had bold hazel eyes and full red lips.</p><p>Speedy raised an eyebrow under his mask and didn't make any motion to take her hand. "Uh, hi. Where's the pep squad?"</p><p>Bumblebee frowned.</p><p>"Uh-<em>hum</em>," Cyborg promptly intervened. "Bumblebee's on the new team, too! She's an engineering prodigy who's helping me program y'all's Tower system, among other things."</p><p>"Well, tell her to re-program the thermostat in this place," said Speedy dismissively. "'cus I'm melting."</p><p>He swaggered over to the table and took off his jacket, placing it around one of the chairs. She saw the inside of the jacket was lined with some kind of diamond serape pattern. She also made out a green tattoo inked into the side of his exposed, tanned and freckled right shoulder.</p><p>Bumblebee pouted in annoyance. <em>Who is this guy?</em></p><p>"Sparky doesn't <em>tell</em> me what to do," she corrected, eyes narrowed. "No one does. So let's get that straight, Speedo."</p><p>"It's Speedy," he replied, now completely humorless.</p><p>"Whatever."</p><p>"Uh, Speedy," said Cyborg awkwardly. "How was your trip?"</p><p>"Fine," said Speedy, undeterred by the other teen's attempt to change the subject. "So, Bumblebee. You got any powers besides being a tech nerd?"</p><p>She put her hands on her hips. "Not that I gotta answer to <em>you</em>, but I happen to have a natural, bio-electric current constantly running through my body. It helps power the suit in the case back there, which can fly at hyper speeds and shrink down to the size of a bee. I made it from scratch. And, I also-"</p><p>Bumblebee grabbed the gilded devices she had previously placed on the table. "-can use these as conduits to focus my inner current into super-powered energy blasts. I call them stingers. Just invented them."</p><p>"Right," he said. <em>She might have beauty and brains</em>, Speedy contemplated. <em>But this girl really thinks she's hot sh-</em></p><p>"<em>It</em> isn't my style to pry," he continued. "But do you usually wear a cheerleading uniform when you're inventing all this stuff?"</p><p>She looked down at her clothing, then back up at him in defiance. "First of all, it's a <em>majorette</em> uniform. And second, no, I don't usually wear it when I'm in the lab. It's just that my jumpsuit is in the laundry right now and I came straight from practice. I happen to be <em>captain</em> of my school's majorette squad. And president of its robotics club, yearbook committee, on the honor roll, track team, and-"</p><p>"OHkay, Bee," said Cyborg, cutting her off. "We know you're amazing. You both are."</p><p>"Heh, sure," sneered Speedy. "But look, babe, you might be captain of the robot yearbook at your little school or whatever, but <em>I'm</em> a big time hero who's been in the real trenches, get it?"</p><p>"Oh, right, you shoot arrows," she said, shrugging and wearing an insufferable smile. "I bet that'll be real useful when the sky tears open and an army of alien warriors starts falling from it."</p><p>"Bee!" yelped Cyborg. Speedy's face was flushed with anger.</p><p>"Like your little stingers would be any better," he retorted. "Bet they're about as useful as you prancing around throwing batons and pom-poms."</p><p>"Hey, that <em>prancing </em>helps keep me in <em>peak</em> physical condition!"</p><p>"Well, in my opinion, cheerleading is a lame waste of time that isn't even a real sport."</p><p>"I told you, I'm a majorette, <em>not</em> a cheerleader!"</p><p>"ENOUGH!"</p><p>Their stomachs both lurched at Cyborg's booming voice, and their heads swiftly turned to their aggravated friend.</p><p>"Look, guys," he said, resuming a marginally kinder demeanor. "Y'all are supposed to be teammates. It'd be nice if y'all could be, y'know, a little more friendly with each other? And respectful."</p><p>Both stood with their backs to each other, saying nothing. Cyborg sighed.</p><p>"Okay, why don't you guys just start over?" he suggested. "Starting with this: hold out your hands and shake."</p><p>"No," said Bumblebee.</p><p>"I'd rather skewer myself with my own arrows," added Speedy.</p><p>"I'd rather you do that too."</p><p>"You know <em>what-</em>"</p><p>"SHAKE," commanded Cyborg. "<em>Now</em>."</p><p>They each flinched, then looked over their shoulders at each other. Bumblebee was the first to turn around; she took a deep breath and held out her hand.</p><p>"Oh <em>okayyy</em>," she said. "Truce?"</p><p>Speedy then spun slowly on his heel, facing Bumblebee. He looked at her hand warily but nonetheless took it, much to Cyborg's relief.</p><p>"Fine, little girl," replied Speedy. "Truce."</p><p>"Well all right!" said Cyborg cheerfully. "Now let's-"</p><p>"YOWCH!"</p><p>The archer flew backwards against the wall, his hand singed. Cyborg threw Bumblebee a bewildered look. "Bee, did you just…?"</p><p>"She ZAPPED me!" Speedy said, furiously getting to his feet. "Crap, that really stings!"</p><p>"Hmph," Bumblebee said, turning her head to the side. "You deserved it. Sparky, you talk about respect, well, <em>he's</em> the one that needs to respect <em>me</em>. I am the leader of this team after all."</p><p>"<em>What?</em>"</p><p>Speedy's expression was one of total disbelief. Bumblebee simpered at him.</p><p>"That's right, arrow-boy. I'm the boss around here," she said primly, gesturing at herself with her thumb. "So you have to report to me!"</p><p>"Cyborg," he growled. "Please tell me she's joking. I thought <em>you</em> were the leader of this team?"</p><p>Cyborg twiddled his thumbs. "I mean, only temporarily. I'm just here to help y'all set this place up and run some battle simulations. I'm gonna be heading back to Jump in a few weeks, and then-"</p><p>"<em>I'll</em> be in charge," Bumblebee finished.</p><p>"This-this is ridiculous!" complained Speedy. "I'm not taking any orders from <em>you!</em>"</p><p>"Tough, 'cus you have to!"</p><p>"Do not!"</p><p>"Do too!"</p><p>"Do not!" he barked. "That's it, I'm calling Robin."</p><p>"What good is that gonna do? He's not your leader, I am."</p><p>"Are not."</p><p>"Are too."</p><p>Cyborg sank down into a chair, holding his head.</p><p><em>Okay, </em>he thought. <em>So Titans East isn't off to the <strong>best </strong>start...</em></p><hr/><p>
  <em>Come as you are, as you were</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As I want you to be</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As a friend, as a friend</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As an old enemy</em>
</p><p>-Nirvana, "Come As You Are"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>[END: TRACK 1]</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. None of Your Business</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Story Description: Just to warn y'all, there are some very cheesy parody names of things ahead.</p><p>Genre: teen dramedy, action</p><p>Rating: T</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>[PLAYING: TRACK 2]</strong>
</p><p>Crank. Bzzt. Thud.</p><p><em>Ding</em>.</p><p>Whizz. Whoosh. Bang.</p><p><em>Ding</em>.</p><p>Jangle. Clink. Beep.</p><p><em>Ding</em>.</p><p>"Bee."</p><p>
  <em>Ding.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Bee.</em>"</p><p>
  <em>Ding.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ding.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Ding.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>"BEE."</p><p>Bumblebee wiped some grime onto her yellow jumpsuit and slid out from under the Wasp, catching sight of her very disgruntled teammate. Speedy was standing behind his work table, dressed in a white tee and a red flannel shirt tied around his waist, glaring at her from the other side of the garage.</p><p>"What?" she said.</p><p>"Can you <em>please</em> put that thing on silent?" he asked, eyeing the pink-cased smartphone in her hand. "I don't even know how you can hold onto that and replace a single-speed transmission at the same time."</p><p>She smirked. "Doubting my expertise?"</p><p>"No," he replied, the thin shaft of an arrow in one hand and a piece of fletching in the other. "Regardless of skill, most people can't get stuff done when there's a phone going off every five seconds. I sure as hell can't."</p><p>Bumblebee sighed. "I'm sorry," she said. "There's just this girl who keeps twitting a bunch of annoying things and it's really, <em>really</em> distracting."</p><p>"Twitting?" said Speedy incredulously. "<em>That's</em> what all the dinging is from? Some chick gossiping on Tweeter? What, do you get a notification every time she twits or something?"</p><p>She pouted. "Maybe."</p><p>"You seriously need to hit that unfollow button."</p><p>"She's totally trashing our team!" Bumblebee blurted out, frantically trying to impress the gravity of the situation. "The girl's sharing all these whack opinions and rumors. She's making fun of our names, our car, my <em>clothes…</em>"</p><p>He rolled his eyes. "Oh no," Speedy said, speaking in the flattest monotone. "Not your clothes. Heaven forbid someone says that your Bumblebee suit is like, so last season."</p><p>That earned him a stare full of bee-stings.</p><p>"You don't get it," she said, gripping her phone tightly. "She keeps saying that when I'm off-duty I dress like a 'wannabe-picstagram-baddie.' Apparently, my fashion sense sets a bad example for little girls. As if I don't already have all these grown men journalists talking about the way I look in my suit instead of the way I use it to save the freakin' day on the daily. Now how I dress on my own time is a problem? What does that even have to do with being a superhero? It's absurd<em>.</em> It's insulting! It's..."</p><p>She trailed off, too heated to even go on.</p><p>"So what?" asked Speedy, nonchalant as he fastened an arrowhead onto the shaft. "Why do you care so much about what other people think?"</p><p>"Did you see THIS?" came a voice loud enough to nearly break the sound barrier.</p><p>Both wincing, they looked over to see Aqualad in the doorway. He was wearing slim-cut trousers and an impossibly soft looking v-neck sweater, which fit loosely over his statuesque physique. His face was pale (well, pal<em>er</em>) with distress as he held up his own phone. Tweeter was glowing on its screen.</p><p>"Wonderful," Speedy said. "Like it wasn't already noisy enough in here. <em>I</em> can't play the latest Violent Riley's album in a shared space but apparently fish-boy can just barge in screaming at the top of his lungs."</p><p>"She said that my hair is synthetic," babbled Aqualad, ignoring his teammate's grievances. "That it's too unnaturally shiny to be real. <em>And</em> she said my ex-boyfriend was a manatee!"</p><p>Speedy canted his head. "Well, was he?"</p><p>Aqualad leveled a gaze at him deadly enough to communicate the obvious answer.</p><p>"I was just asking," said Speedy, suppressing the urge to shrink under the other boy's pupil-less black eyes. "Geez."</p><p>Bumblebee, having rose from her creeper, stood shaking her head. "This is getting out of control. People are retwitting her ish like crazy. My dm's are blowing up and I can't even bear to see what they say. She needs to be stopped."</p><p>"Agreed," said Aqualad. "We should report her account. Maybe even sue."</p><p>Speedy laughed, admiring his newly-assembled arrow. "Gimme a break. You guys are so damn sensitive. Here's some advice: try being more like me and not giving a crap about what losers say about you on social media."</p><p>Aqualad stared at him. "She said you listen to eighties hair metal."</p><p>"<em>What?</em>"</p><p>"Boy bands too," added Bumblebee.</p><p>"WHAT?"</p><p>In mere seconds, Speedy had gone from the picture of unbothered teenage cool to looking like he was ready to snap the arrow - along with someone's neck - in half. He set the projectile down for its own well-being. Meanwhile, Aqualad strolled over to the archer's side of the garage, casually reading aloud from his phone.</p><p>"The embarrassing Kapniss Emberdeen knock-off who goes by Speedy - which is a lame name by any standards, but especially dumb considering he isn't even one of the people on the team who can actually run super-fast - is known to be the 'rebel bad boy' of Titans East,'" read Aqualad in a mocking voice. "He runs around in a ratty denim jacket covered in patches and favors punk music. Evidently he hates 'douchey' hard rock bands and manufactured mainstream 'garbage.' But I hear he's actually partial to a good Guns N'Daisies song once in a while. And he also has a thing for the catchy musical stylings of teen-pop-sensation One Connection. Hashtag 'the hypocrisy.'"</p><p>"That's a lie!" yelled Speedy, outraged. "Gimme me that phone."</p><p>He swiped the device from Aqualad and scrolled through the other Twits.</p><p>"How can she compare me to 'Kapniss Emberdeen'? She's a fictional character who wasn't even written into existence until like five years ago. I've been shooting arrows since I was eight!" he ranted. "Also, I have <em>never</em> listened to Guns N'Daisies. At least not without turning that crap off after the first two seconds."</p><p>Bumblebee and Aqualad exchanged glances. Their teammate appeared to be on the verge of an aneurysm.</p><p>"And what's up with this chick's handle?" he said. "'The Real <em>Tea</em> Titans?' Does she think that's clever or something? It doesn't even make sense!"</p><p>"It really doesn't," said Bumblebee. "But yes, she certainly comes off as thinking pretty highly of herself."</p><p>"Her profile picture gives me self-absorbed-nutjob-vibes. The kind emitted by someone who thinks everything she says is a witty hot-take," said Speedy, glowering at the heavily air-brushed thumbnail. The image showed a girl with pointy facial features and thick-rimmed glasses. Her hair was blindingly blonde, and her eyes were a piercing blue. She had a mean mouth with barely any lips, and a finely-plucked eyebrow arched way up high.</p><p>"Well, I guess people adore self-absorbed nutjobs," said Bumblebee. "Because this girl has gained thousands of followers literally overnight."</p><p>She scrolled on her phone and found a twit from earlier this morning.</p><p>"Thanks for 400k everyone!" Bumblebee read in her best bratty, valley-girl voice. "So happy that y'all are supporting my brand of fearless, unfiltered truth! I stay sippin' that tea on fleek, and that's finna slay perdiodt, <em>yas!</em>"</p><p>Speedy and Aqualad both cringed. Bumblebee deadpanned at them.</p><p>"Barely any of the words in that last sentence were used correctly," she said. "I don't think I've ever seen the typed equivalent of a train-wreck until now.</p><p>"Ugh," groaned Aqualad, taking his phone back from Speedy. "This is a nightmare."</p><p>"Okay," Speedy said. "This girl obviously sucks, but maybe people are just following her because she's so embarrassing it's funny? I mean what sensible person would buy into any of this crap? All it takes is basic critical thinking skills-"</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Ding.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Ding.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Ding.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>He rubbed his temple, nursing a vein that had popped out and was now throbbing profusely.</p><p>"More twits?" he asked.</p><p>Bumblebee nodded. "Yeah, I wonder what-"</p><p>
  <em>CRASH.</em>
</p><p>The cacophonous sound made the three of them jump. Gazing at each other with unease, they all hurried out of the garage to find the source.</p><hr/><p>"Ella es mía!"</p><p>"En tus sueños, feo!"</p><p>"Si soy feo, entonces eres feo!"</p><p>"Oh, <em>hell</em> no!"</p><p>Bumblebee was beside herself as she watched a blur of colors, most prominently fire-truck-red, dart around the Tower's common area. The Titans' panoramic flatscreen lay smashed on the floor.</p><p>"Más, Menos, stop!" pleaded Aqualad. The twins paid him no mind, proceeding to bounce rapidly off the walls while bickering in Spanish. Any chairs, tables, or other pieces of furniture that got in their way suffered the same fate as the television.</p><p>"That's it," said Bumblebee, stingers in hand. She raised them towards the ceiling and zapped white-hot energy straight into the fire sprinkler system. Instantly, water rained down onto the room, shorting out the brothers' magnetic connection and slowing them to a normal speed. They rolled around on the floor in front of the others, Más yanking at Menos's overalls and Menos almost tearing off the hood of Más's sweatshirt. They kept shouting and wrestling until Speedy managed to pull them apart. He held the two disheveled boys at a distance while they clawed the air like a couple of angry wolf pups.</p><p>"Esto no tiene que ver contigo!" fumed Más, batting at Speedy as the sprinklers faded to a stop.</p><p>"Sí, suéltanos! Necesito terminar de patearle el trasero!" added Menos, beginning to gnaw on his hand.</p><p>"OW, you little-! All right, <em>enough,</em>" Speedy ordered, shoving them in opposite directions."You pipsqueaks are gonna tell us why you're at each other's throats. <em>Now</em>."</p><p>Menos crossed his arms and looked away. Más, also not feeling talkative, merely retrieved his phone from his pocket and displayed it with a sour look on his face. Bumblebee could've guessed what she was about to see on the screen.</p><p>"Of course," she said. "The Real Tea Titans?"</p><p>Menos nodded bitterly. "Ahora que sé la verdad, ya no puedo decir que tengo un hermano."</p><p>"Me siento igual," said Menos, wearing a scathing grin. "No creo que pueda tener un hermano tan patético como él."</p><p>"Guys," she said. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic? Whatever she twitted, I don't think it's worth getting this mad at each other over."</p><p>Menos glared at Bumblebee. "Léelo."</p><p>Más kept grinning and shook the phone at her.</p><p>She frowned. "Fine."</p><p>Taking the phone from him, she looked at the offending, freshly-published tweeter thread.</p><p>"Más y Menos are identical twins, save for a couple key differences," she read. "For example: Menos has a gap in his teeth, wears his line-up with a drop fade and his red hair swept towards the front of his head. Más wears his slicked back, which is heard to be the preferred style of one pretty orange member of the original Teen Titans...oh, oh<em> crap</em>."</p><p>"Double crap," said Speedy.</p><p>"So let me get this straight," Aqualad said, holding his head. "You two wrecked our living room because, allegedly, Starfire likes one of your <em>haircuts</em> better than the other's?"</p><p>"Menos lo empezó. No puede aceptar los hechos concretos," stated Más smugly.</p><p>"Tú eres quien le lavó el cerebro a Starfire en secreto," retorted Menos. "No sé cómo lo hiciste, pero sé que a ella nunca le gustaría más tu peinado cojo que el mío!"</p><p>Speedy smiled and shrugged. "What can drive a wedge between two brothers like a hot alien girl can?"</p><p>Bumblebee shot him a very unamused look.</p><p>"What?" he asked, genuinely clueless.</p><p>"Boy, hush," she said and then turned back to the twins. "Okay, guys, you can't trust a thing this girl says. And since when are you two on Tweeter, anyway?</p><p>Menos opened his mouth to reply, but the beeping of Bumblebee's communicator stole the moment away from him. She dug it out of her jumpsuit pocket and clicked it open, scanning details of the new crime-in-progress. However, before she could even relay them back to her team, Aqualad informed them of a more complete version of the situation at hand.</p><p>"Control Freak is apparently making trouble at the My Little Porpoise convention downtown," he said. "He's threatening to transport people who don't like his Bubbles and Flippershy fan fiction to another dimension."</p><p>Bumblebee blinked. "How did you...?"</p><p>More <em>ding</em>'s filled the air.</p><p>"How do you think?" said Aqualad, holding up his phone.</p><p>"Man, is this chick on Tweeter every minute of the day?" asked Speedy.</p><p>"Evidently," replied Aqualad. "And she has mean things to say about the bad guys too. Listen to this: The only person lamer than the Titans East is the Z-lister of a "supervillain" named Control Freak. The fact that he has access to a ficbrary dot net account should be considered a crime against humanity. His grammar and spelling are atrocious and he seems to think High School AU's starring anthropomorphic porpoises classify as high art. But you know, maybe he has a point. Those of us with more pedestrian tastes likely can't appreciate the pure poetry of a story described with the tag line, 'Bad summery, but I promise it's better then it sounds.'? Hashtag 'Cancel Control Freak.'"</p><p>Speedy snorted. "Okay, that's pretty funny."</p><p>Bumblebee groaned.</p><p>"This can't be happening," she said as her phone continued to sound with more notifications.</p><p>"It gets better," said Aqualad sarcastically. "'An even worse crime against humanity is the fact that the Titans East can't ever manage to beat this guy for good. Where are they, anyway? He just made a bunch of porpoise plushies come alive and attack some frail, defenseless convention-goers. There's a lot of tears and screaming. Who's gonna come save these poor thirty year-old white dudes?'"</p><p>"I vote we just let this one slide," Speedy remarked, unperturbed by the twit.</p><p>"As much as I'd like to - and I'd <em>really </em>like to - we can't," said Bumblebee. "Besides, if this 'Real Tea Titans' person is live-twitting the, uh, <em>crime</em> currently happening, that probably means she's at the convention center too. This gives us a chance to find out who she is."</p><p>"She just twitted again," Aqualad said, proceeding to read off his phone screen. "The twit says, 'narrowly dodged a Flippershy figurine going 100 mph. I might take back what I said about Control Freak being lamer than the Titans East. His aim is way better than Speedy's.'"</p><p>Speedy balled his fists at his sides. "Let's get down there. Now."</p><p>Más stuck his nose up at the idea. "No voy a ir a ningún lado con <em>él</em>."</p><p>Menos mimicked his brother's gesture. "Same."</p><p>Bumblebee bent down to their height, a menacing gleam in her dark hazel eyes. "Oh, you're going."</p><p>They looked from her to each other. After a few seconds, they begrudgingly muttered in unison, "Fine."</p><hr/><p>The floor of the convention center was a battlefield, one littered with dismembered pieces of pastel porpoise paraphernalia. <em>Try saying that five-times-fast</em>, thought Bumblebee as she flew over a crowd of distraught, colorfully-costumed civilians; they were scrambling to retrieve their "My Little Porpoise" merchandise while Control Freak set off one explosion after another. She didn't like to think that "The Real Tea Titans" was actually capable of an accurate take, but most of the convention-goers did indeed look to be thirty or older.</p><p>"Put <em>down</em> the marine mammal-themed body pillows, Control Freak," commanded Bumblebee. She aimed her stingers at the greasy, portly cretin sporting a top-knot. He had his souped-up black remote raised and about a dozen pillows levitating in the air above it.</p><p>"Eh," he said, grinning with yellowed teeth. "I don't feeeeeel like it."</p><p>Speedy had multiple arrows at the ready. "Come on, man. Do these people really deserve to be smothered with a Flittershy pillow just 'cus they don't like your crappy writing?"</p><p>"My fanfics are top-tier," growled Control Freak. "And it's <em>Flipper</em>shy, you pleb."</p><p>The pillows flew at them, and Speedy took out eight with ease, leaving the leftover portion to Bumblebee. She zapped the rest while Aqualad went toe-to-toe with a giant porpoise cut-out.</p><p>"You're probably enjoying being surrounded by so many porpoises," Control Freak sneered at him. "I hear you really, <em>really</em> like undersea mammals."</p><p>Aqualad viciously tore through the cut-out. "The Atlantean civilization does <em>not</em> have those sorts of intimate relations with sea animals!"</p><p>"No, just you I'm guessing," the villain replied, clicking his remote and constructing some sort of golem from a table piled high with chapter books and blu-rays.</p><p>"You're dead."</p><p>"Chill, fish-boy," said Speedy. "Don't let this glorified couch potato get to you."</p><p>"Hey, it's Speedy!" shouted a man wearing a glittery Rainbow Dashi costume, waving his baby-blue flippers in the archer's direction. "Have you heard the latest One Connection song?"</p><p>"Who's your favorite member?" the guy next to the vindictive Rainbow Dashi jeered, clothed in a yellow Bubbles costume striped with pink and purple. "I bet it's Leon!"</p><p>Speedy clenched his teeth and glanced at Bumblebee. "So, are we like, <em>never</em> supposed to fire on civilians? 'Cus I can think of a few ex-"</p><p>"Watch out!" she exclaimed, whooshing them both out of the way as the hulking golem bounded towards them. Más and Menos raced at the figure, knocking it off balance and zipping from place to place, keeping it busy.</p><p>Slightly disoriented, Speedy soon gathered himself and smiled at Bumblebee. "Guess I owe ya."</p><p>She raised an eyebrow, opening her mouth to say something in return but was cut off by Control Freak.</p><p>"Try not to lose your heads, Titans!"</p><p>A whirring sound cut through the air. Bumblebee turned to see a series of blu-ray discs spinning towards her like shuriken. However, before she could make a single move, arrows shot out from behind her and eliminated every disc. She looked back at her teammate, who was wearing his signature cocky smirk.</p><p>"And I guess now we're even," said Speedy.</p><p>"Impressive," Control Freak said, rubbing his remote deviously. "I suppose you all do bring your A-game when you're going up against your greatest adversary!"</p><p>Más and Menos had toppled the golem, reducing it to the scattered contents from which it had been assembled.</p><p>"Tu? Nuestro mayor adversario?" asked Menos in disbelief.</p><p>"Tienes que estar bromeando, perdedor!" said Más.</p><p>"I can't understand you!" snapped Control Freak. "Now, where's that Spanish-language-converter button…? Oh, and by the way guys, I'd say you need to rebrand yourselves as solo heroes now that the delicious Alien Powerhouse Starfire has made her preferences known. Though it's obvious that she prefers <em>my</em> style the best."</p><p>"Callate la boca!" yelled Menos.</p><p>"Ah, karate labooka yaself!" he shot back.</p><p>Suddenly, a gush of water propelled him into a wall. Aqualad stood in between two water fountains, looking like he'd had just about enough of the villain's antics. The drenched and discombobulated Control Freak held his remote forward, but before he could cause any further mayhem an arrow crashed into it from above, making the villain drop the remote onto the floor. The smoking device made a sad sound as it shorted out. His head snapped up to see Speedy perched atop a tall bannister. He jumped down onto the floor.</p><p>"It's time to end this," said Aqualad.</p><p>"My thoughts exactly," agreed Bumblebee. The five of them approached Control Freak, who was hunched over in a way that made him resemble a cornered dog. As they were closing in on him, the dulcet ring of a bell reverberated throughout the room. Immediately, Control Freak straightened his posture and held a forefinger up at the Titans.</p><p>"Give me a sec," he said. "I gotta check my Tweeter notifications."</p><p>They all looked at each other, mouths agape.</p><p>Speedy let out a dry laugh."Are you joking?"</p><p>"Uh, no?" Control Freak replied as if the archer barely had two brain cells. "I haven't checked Tweeter in the last hour or so. I'm probably super behind...oOoOh! Looks like The Real Tea Titans has some new twits!"</p><p>"You follow that account too?" asked Aqualad.</p><p>"A dUH," the villain said. "She's hilarious. And her takes on you five are spot on."</p><p>"That's real funny coming from someone who used to be such a raging fanboy of ours," said Bumblebee, hands on her hips.</p><p>"Hey, I never stopped being one," he said, looking down at his phone and presumably scrolling through long threads of twits. "That doesn't mean I don't agree with her when she says you dress like a wannabe picstagram baddie. However, my agreement stems from a place of well-meaning concern."</p><p>"Concern?" she repeated with a furrowed brow.</p><p>"Indeed," explained Control Freak. "'Cus, honestly, the Titans East needs to work on their image. Really Bumblebee, what makes you think guys actually like that much make-up? Or neon yellow socks? Or those hairstyles—! Have you ever thought of going with something a little classier? I suggest an Urana look, particularly the one from the seventh season of Star Trail."</p><p>Bumblebee's whole body had gone dangerously still. Her teammates watched the situation unfold apprehensively, bracing themselves for Control Freak to get what he deserved. And to maybe step in if he got a little too much.</p><p>"Your feedback has been noted," said their leader, tone overly-sweet. "But I have to wonder, Control Freak, what your thoughts are on 'The Real Tea Titans' take on <em>you</em>? Particularly how she says that you're a Z-List villain and your access to publishing fan fiction is a 'crime against humanity'?"</p><p>"Uh, excuse me?"</p><p>She crossed her arms. "You heard me right. Check her twits from about a half-hour ago."</p><p>"What the heck are you talking-HEY!" said Control Freak indignantly. "She just twitted that my fan fiction 'makes My Immortal look like classical literature!' <em>What </em>the hell? And she said a ten year-old could make a better quadruple light-sword than me!"</p><p>"Probably true," said Speedy.</p><p>Bumblebee made an exasperated sound. "Clearly, no one is safe from this person's verbal assaults. Now, it's time for you to go back to your comfy padded cell."</p><p>"B-But," whimpered Control Freak, clutching his phone. "I'm a victim here too! This—this is libel! Slander! I'll sue! I'll start a campaign to—!"</p><p>Aqualad cut the rogue off with a swift hit to the back of his neck.</p><p>"Thanks, Al," said Bumblebee.</p><hr/><p>Not too long after Control Freak had been knocked out, the police arrived to take his unconscious body away. The Titans attended to the convention-goers, who were still reeling in the aftershock of Control Freak's attacks. Fortunately, no one was seriously harmed; they were mostly mourning their damaged costumes and broken, limited-edition My Little Porpoise figurines.</p><p>"Signed by the voice actors themselves!" Speedy said animatedly.</p><p>"Be nice," said Aqualad, nudging his teammate in the arm.</p><p>"Why should I?" he griped. "These so-called <em>innocent</em> civilians happen to be idiots who buy into propaganda."</p><p>The other boy laughed. "I don't think mean words on social media can be categorized as propaganda, Speedy."</p><p>"Cyber-terrorism, then."</p><p>Aqualad rolled his eyes.</p><p>Menos held up an impassioned fist, asking, "Entonces, cómo se supone que vamos a averiguar quién es este fraude?"</p><p>"I have no idea," said Aqualad. "I mean, if they were here, the person running the 'Real Tea Titans' could have fled the scene already."</p><p>"She twitted five minutes ago," Bumblebee said, looking down at her communicator. "And she just twitted again. Said we used unnecessary force when apprehending Control Freak because we're a bunch of power-mad vigilantes. And that we bully adult My Little Porpoise fans!"</p><p>"Bee," he asked. "Did you really sync your tweeter feed with your Titans com?"</p><p>"It's for research purposes!" she defended in a huff.</p><p>Speedy eyed the black of a blonde head through the glass doors of the convention center. The young woman turned slightly and he could see that she was furiously typing away on her phone.</p><p>"I got your research right here," he muttered before bolting out the door. He stomped up to the unsuspecting blonde and grabbed her shoulder, whirling her around to face him. She looked at him with wide, bewildered eyes as he snatched the phone out of her hands.</p><p>"Caught you red-handed!" he barked. "What lie are you disseminating to the public, now?"</p><p>Speedy scanned her phone screen. However, he soon found that he wasn't looking at Tweeter, and instead a very heated fight via text with someone named "Chad."</p><p>"What the heck is wrong with you?" seethed the blonde. "Give me that back!"</p><p>The irate woman took back her phone.</p><p><em>Well</em>, thought Speedy. <em>That wasn't my smartest move.</em></p><p>"Uh...sorry?" he said, offering her a sheepish grin. "I, um, thought you were someone else-"</p><p>"Gosh, The Real Tea Titans is right about the Titans East!" she snapped. "You're a bunch of amateurs! Especially <em>you</em>. Your judgment is as bad as your aim!"</p><p>Speedy scowled. "<em>Listen</em>, lady-"</p><p>"Speedy!"</p><p>He looked to see that Aqualad and the others had joined them.</p><p>"Please excuse us, Miss," interjected his teammate while stepping between the two, voice dripping with Atlantean charm. "Our team is under a lot of stress right now. You understand, don't you?"</p><p>Though she was still upset, the woman's expression lessened in intensity at the sight of his handsome face.</p><p>"<em>Ugh</em>," she said, glaring at Speedy. "Fine. I'm outta here."</p><p>She harrumphed and marched off. Más elbowed Speedy, commenting snidely, "Buen trabajo, genius."</p><p>He side-eyed him with a dirty look. Bumblebee shook her head.</p><p>"Speedy, I want to find out who the Real Tea Titans is as much as you, but I really don't think profiling every blonde girl with a smartphone in this city is the way to do it," she said.</p><p>"Feh," he said, shrugging. "So I had the wrong girl. Doesn't mean we weren't all thinking it could have been her."</p><p>Out of nowhere, Menos began shouting and pointing to the other side of the street.</p><p>"Allí! Ella está ahí!" he said, referring to a bespectacled, texting blonde woman walking side by side with some guy. The couple froze, appearing startled. Menos was about to dash over to them before Bumblebee grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.</p><p>She flashed the man and woman a toothy-white smile. "Eheheheheh," she said. "Sorry about that! Nothing to worry about, folks."</p><p>Disturbed, the couple simply stared back before walking away. Still holding onto Menos, who was grumbling resentful remarks in Spanish under his breath, Bumblebee turned to her team and addressed them with a no-nonsense tone:</p><p>"We're going home."</p><hr/><p>Back at Titans Tower, Bumblebee stood over an open blender sitting atop the kitchen counter. Más and Menos, apparently having only agreed to make nice while on-duty, were giving each other the silent treatment. They had resigned themselves to different parts of the tower, with Más bothering Speedy during the latter's target practice and Menos sulking on the stool across from Bumblebee.</p><p>It was a step up from them destroying furniture, but still, no one was happy about the twins' predicament, or the entire situation in general. Their whole day had gone to heck because of one rogue Tweeter account.</p><p>"This is all so silly," said Bumblebee, slicing a banana into the blender. Menos passive-aggressively tick-tacked on his handheld game console. She observed his expression. It was a mix between anger and sadness.</p><p>"You know, even if what The Real Tea Titans said about Starfire is true," she reasoned aloud. "Why does that matter so much to you? Why do the opinions of others matter so much to any of us?"</p><p>It was as much a question aimed at him as it was to herself.</p><p>"Starfire es la chica más hermosa y perfecta del mundo. Lo que ella piensa de mí es todo," replied Menos matter-of-factly.</p><p><em>Ooohhhkayyy,</em> thought Bumblebee.</p><p>"I know you like Starfire," Bumblebee said. "A lot. She seems like a really nice person - way too nice to say something petty enough to divide you and your brother like this. But let's just say she does like Más's hair better-"</p><p>She paused when she saw his devastated face.</p><p>"-which I would bet is a hundred percent NOT true," assured Bumblebee. "But hypothetically, let's just say it is. Why let it drive you crazy? It's just hair. The fact that you wear yours differently doesn't mean you're any less than your brother. You're both unique people and your differences don't mean you, Menos, aren't as good of a hero or person as he is. You know that. The team knows that. The people whose lives we save on a daily basis know that. Or at least, they should."</p><p>Menos's console made a pitiful noise as his character, a plucky electrician with a beard, met his fate at the vines of little plant creature known as a "joomba." He looked back at Bumblebee with clouded eyes.</p><p>"El problema no es que crea que a la mayoría de la gente le agradamos más uno de nosotros que el otro," Menos explained, his voice a little shaky. "Es que normalmente no se molestan en diferenciarnos en absoluto. Y cuando alguien finalmente lo hace, lo hace solo para decir que el amor de mi vida prefiere el cabello de mi hermano al mío."</p><p>For a moment, Bumblebee was at a loss for words. She hadn't expected something so clear and straightforward from a twelve year-old boy. <em>I see now</em>, she thought.</p><p>"People think you two are the same person," Bumblebee said, meditating aloud on what he had just so candidly told her. "Just because you're twins who share a superpower, they think that you share an identity, that there's no point in trying to look deeper and see you as two individuals with completely different personalities. And when…"</p><p>She saw a tear roll down his cheek. Putting down the banana, she reached over the counter to put a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>"And when the Real Tea Titans <em>did</em> distinguish you from your brother, she did it only by shallowly commenting on your looks," she said. "She made it seem like someone really special to you picked your brother over you like y'all were two were just two different styles of shirts. Like you weren't actually people with feelings. And she did it in front of everyone. That's why it's embarrassing. That's why it hurts."</p><p>Menos nodded, trembling with repressed sobs. The boy's face reddened as he fought back the tears, his mind too prideful to allow himself to break down, but his heart driving his body to react in the opposite way. Bumblebee retracted her hand and walked around the counter. She stood next to Menos's stool and gently wrapped her arms around him.</p><p>"Probably doesn't help that Más has done nothing but rub this in your face," said Bumblebee, rubbing the boy's back. Menos jerked away from her, wiping trails of mucus on his sleeve.</p><p>"Siempre salta ante cualquier señal de que alguien más lo favorece a él antes que a mí," said Menos.</p><p>She ruffled his hair. "Guess he hates that people think of you two as the same person, too."</p><p>Menos nodded, glaring at the floor.</p><p>"Well, that doesn't make it right for him to boast," she said. "But maybe, if you both could tell each other how you feel…"</p><p>Her phone <em>ding</em>ed. Multiple times.</p><p>"Wonderful," she said, watching the teary-eyed boy in front of her grab a napkin in which to blow his nose. "Honestly, I've had it up to here with this girl. She is <em>not</em> getting away with trashing our team like this!"</p><p>Opening the Tweeter app, Bumblebee prepared herself for the worst. She wondered if another villain was on the loose and the Real Tea Titans was at the scene yet again, live-twitting the incident before the team's communicators had picked it up. Or maybe the girl had more "tea" to spill on Aqualad's exes, or Speedy's taste in music, or Starfire's dating preferences and how the twins stacked up in comparison...</p><p>Bumblebee froze when she saw the new thread of twits. Menos stared at her with worry, a glistening thread of snot bridging his nostril and the napkin in his stubby fingers.</p><p>"Está todo bien?" he asked. The grip she had on her phone was so tight he thought she might crush it to pieces.</p><p>She read the biting words:</p><p>
  <em>Bumblebee is supposed to be the leader of the Titans 's a sixteen year-old girl playing mother hen to four boys, two of which are older than her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A job like that requires a serious, competent mind who knows not to mix business with pleasure. But I've heard Bumblebee has a hidden tendency to be a little boy-crazy!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's well known among TT stans that she and Jump City's Cyborg went out a year or so ago (need I remind y'all about one of the most memorable Sadie Hawkins' dances in history?) but it didn't take her too long to get over him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She's been known to flirt with Hotspot of Titans North and even Robin, the Boy Wonder himself! Judging by the way she dresses off-duty, it's pretty clear to anyone with eyes that she's always trying to seek the attention of the opposite sex!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Some feminist. She's far from being a role model for the kids of this city, or anywhere for that matter.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Let's also not forget that she's on a team with both Speedy and Aqualad. That's more than enough to test the self-control of a fast young girl like her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Y'all, be real - we definitely know she's not a virgin, right? And that's all tea, all shade. On point, periodt!</em>
</p><p>A loud <em>swish</em> drew her attention away from the vitriol in front of her. Mouth hanging open, she looked up to see Speedy, Aqualad, and Más standing in the entrance to the common area. Their faces bore anxious concern, which only added to her desire to to melt into the floor out of pure humiliation.</p><p>She clamped her lips shut and swallowed hard. Inhaling and exhaling deeply through her nose, she tried to let her frenzied emotions flow out of her.</p><p>It didn't work. But she tried to act like it had.</p><p>"I take it that you've all heard the latest <em>tea</em>," she said, voice cool and airy like she wasn't still boiling with rage on the inside. Warily, the others approached her and Menos.</p><p>"Bumblebee…" Aqualad started. She saw the twins trade spiteful looks. Annoyance pricked at her in response.</p><p>"You know what?" she said, slamming her hand onto the counter and making all four boys jump.</p><p>"What?" asked Speedy, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.</p><p>"I am tired of letting this girl get to us," she said with firm resolve. "We are not going to crumble from her making up all this nonsense about the Titans East. We're much stronger than that! And as such…"</p><p>She addressed Más and Menos.</p><p>"You two are going to squash your beef. Right here, right now. Más, I think you should go first."</p><p>"Qué?" asked said twin, wide-eyed.</p><p>"You heard me," said Bumblebee. "You are not going to continue fighting over something The Real Tea Titans started. She's just one idiot with a tweeter account. The garbage she spouts isn't worth hurting someone you love over."</p><p>Más's expression slowly turned repentant. He looked at his brother. Menos still seemed bitter.</p><p>Before either could say anything, Bumblebee's communicator beeped. That happened far more than anyone liked.</p><p>"Oh, what now?" she asked, exhausted. Flipping it open, she could barely believe the news.</p><p>"It's Control Freak," she said. "Again! He's trying to start something down at the prison."</p><p>"Geez, <em>what </em>has gotten into him lately?" Speedy asked. "Do his fellow inmates not like his fan fiction either?"</p><p>"Who knows," said Bumblebee. "I'm just glad that you-know-who hasn't twitted about it yet."</p><p>Aqualad looked down at his phone. "Um. Well, actually."</p><p>She heaved a weary sigh. "Save it. Let's just go do our jobs."</p><hr/><p>The city's maximum security prison was located on a small island right off the harbor. Though at the moment, Bumblebee was questioning the "maximum" nature of it's security. How Control Freak had managed to get his hands on another super-powered remote while inside the prison's walls, she didn't know for sure. However, she was definitely going to find out - right after they handled their current, very volatile, situation.</p><p>"Feast your eyes on my latest masterpiece, Titans!" bellowed Control Freak from atop a giant robot constructed of massive security monitors and various other electronic equipment. It had bundles of loose, crackling wires for tentacles. On every screen was a live image of a member of their team, staring fiercely back at the monstrosity. Tens of hundreds of other freed supervillain prisoners stood at the robot's feet wearing mischievous grins.</p><p>"Aww, just look at those terrified faces," said Control Freak, fiddling with his remote. "What's scarier, my robot, or the fact that every TV in town will be showcasing your failure to prevent the biggest jailbreak in history?"</p><p>"You're broadcasting this to the public?" asked Aqualad dully. "Haven't you tried doing this to us before?"</p><p>"Yeah," said Speedy, drawing his bow. "Can't the 'master of mass media' come up with some fresh and inventive ideas instead of repeating old ones? Your shtick is getting real boring."</p><p>"How dare you!" snapped Control Freak."I am THE most innovative, original member of all the Teen Titans' rogues galleries combined!"</p><p>Bumblebee scoffed. "Please. Dr. Light would rank above you any day of the week."</p><p>"Oooh, quema," said Más y Menos in unison.</p><p>A huge vein pulsed in Control Freak's forehead, about ready to burst.</p><p>"You. Take. That. <em>Back</em>," he ordered.</p><p>"I will if you surrender," said Bumblebee, eyes going from Control Freak to the crowd of criminals below him. "If you <em>all </em>surrender."</p><p>Control Freak smirked. "Let me think about it...no. Get 'em, boys! Me 'n Videodrone got some prison walls to blow!"</p><p>The crowd charged at them. Speedy fired a jumbo boxing glove-arrow at the large inmate barreling towards him, leading the pack. It bowled the man and a fair few other prisoners behind him over like pins.</p><p>"Very original name," said the archer.</p><p>"SHUT UP."</p><p>He leapt to avoid a bunch of hot wires that whipped at the ground, leaving scorch marks. Bumblebee buzzed around the robot, firing her stingers mercilessly. It batted and swiped at her while Más y Menos tried to round up the other criminals. Control Freak, staring down at his remote, half-distractedly yelled at his creation, ordering it to focus on busting through the walls so the prisoners could escape.</p><p>"<em>Ugh</em>," groaned Bumblebee as she was whacked to the ground. She glanced at Speedy.</p><p>"You got something strong enough to stop that thing in its tracks?" she asked him.</p><p>Winking, he replied, "Gotcha covered, boss lady."</p><p>Speedy plucked a special arrow from his quiver and drew it back in his bow, aiming for the screen at the center of the robot's chest. It displayed the archer's concentrated face in high-definition. Searing wires swayed erratically in front of the robot's torso. A horde of them lashed out at the prison wall, producing a fiery hole.</p><p>"Now, Speedy!" cried Bumblebee, zapping villains left and right to keep them off her teammate. His eyes widened as he saw an opening.</p><p>The arrow soared straight into the screen, shattering the glass. From the black emptiness of the monitor swelled a huge mass of clay. In seconds, it ballooned in mass, covering the entire robot and hardening until it looked like a lumpy reddish-orange mountain.</p><p>"Hey!" shouted Control Freak. "That's not fair!"</p><p>Aqualad had climbed to the top of the wall. Bumblebee swiftly flew both the twins up, and Speedy joined them all via zipline. Back straight and chest puffed forward, Aqualad held up his arms and summoned a giant wave of water from the harbor. It flooded over the wall and through the hole, putting out its flames and washing all the prisoners back towards the prison compound.</p><p>Bumblebee took a deep breath, focusing all her energy on what she was about to do. She pointed her stingers at the clay-covered robot and fired a large current of white-yellow electricity straight at it. It charred and crumbled to the ground.</p><p>Control Freak screamed like a ten year-old child as he plummeted with the remains of his robot. Aqualad motioned for the water to recede, and Más y Menos turned into a red and white streak down the side of the wall, nabbing Control Freak's remote before he could even think to do something else with it.</p><hr/><p>As the guards apprehended and ushered all the sopping-wet supervillains back into their cells, the Titans East looked down at the pitiful bad guy begging on his knees for his remote back. They had found out that it was the last spare his prison BFF, named "Wendell," had been holding for him under the condition that Control Freak would get him an illegally-recorded rare stage production of "Star Trail: The Musical," which contained footage of Urana's "wardrobe malfunction." Considering Control Freak had just confessed to not possessing such a tape, and also to the fact that there was no such thing as "Star Trail: The Musical," Wendell was now his ex-prison-BFF.</p><p>Bumblebee was holding his beloved remote in her hand and not looking the slightest bit sympathetic.</p><p>"You're being transferred to Jump," she said, casually examining the device. "In a straight jacket. After being thoroughly frisked."</p><p>"PleeEEAAse!" he whined. "You can't DOoooOOoo this! Just give me my remote back, I'll do ANY—"</p><p>"Gosh, how <em>does</em> this thing even work?" asked Bumblebee, ever the curious engineer. "Is this the central command button right here?"</p><p>"No WAIT—"</p><p>Suddenly, the pad of multi-colored buttons and switches parted down the middle, revealing themselves to be constructed of two panels that slid to opposite sides and exposed a small screen.</p><p>And, lo and behold, the sight on that screen, was none other than-</p><p>"<em>Tweeter?</em>" exclaimed Speedy, who had been looking over Bumblebee's shoulder. In plain view was the profile picture of a familiar, insufferable blonde.</p><p>"It's The Real Tea Titans's account!" said Aqualad. "Only it's from the user's view! Which means that—"</p><p>"Control Freak," said Bumblebee incredulously. "<em>You're</em> The Real Tea Titans?!"</p><p>He responded with nervous giggles, tapping his forefingers together.</p><p>"Uh-hummm...yeah?"</p><p>Bumblebee yanked him forward by his lapel. "Explain yourself. Now."</p><p>He gulped.</p><p>"I...uh…" stammered Control Freak. "Needed a platform for all my spicy takes! And seeing as I had been banned in an official capacity from all social media…"</p><p>"You decided to make a fake account," finished Aqualad.</p><p>"Okay, but..." Speedy inquired, pointing to the screen. "Whose pic is that?"</p><p>Control Freak shuffled his feet. "It's my cousin Karen's. She doesn't use social media."</p><p>"Todo esto está tan mal," said Más, putting a hand to his forehead. "Y sin embargo tan apropiado."</p><p>"Por qué harías una cuenta para insultarte a ti mismo?" asked Menos.</p><p>"Yeah," said Bumblebee. "Why would you say such horrible things about yourself to thousands of people online?"</p><p>"Isn't it obvious?" asked Control Freak, grinning. "First of all, I had to make people rule out the possibility that it might have been me behind the account. Second - it's just great publicity! Do you know how many more hits my fanfics have been getting ever since The Real Tea Titans said that they're worse than 'My Immortal'?"</p><p>"Wow," commented Speedy. "You really did the most for views and followers, didn't you?"</p><p>"Doesn't everyone?" replied Control Freak with a shrug.</p><p>Aqualad looked at his teammates. "He's got a point there."</p><p>Bumblebee thrust Control Freak back onto the ground. "I don't care about any of that," she said. "Do you realize how miserable your lies have made us? We've become laughing stocks because of all your bogus rumors!"</p><p>"Hey, my takes were NOT lies," he said. "They were carefully thought-out and articulated critiques. If anything, you guys should be thanking me for so bluntly pointing out all the things you need to work on as a team! My words may have been harsh, but they came from a place of love. Love that only your number one fan could have!"</p><p>"How is fabricating stories about me dating a manatee a 'critique'?" demanded Aqualad.</p><p>Control Freak tilted his nose up in an over-dignified manner. "Perhaps I stretched the truth here and there, so sue me."</p><p>"I just might," Aqualad snapped. "Because none of the stuff you spread about us was even remotely true!"</p><p>"I wouldn't say that," the villain said salaciously. "I think I got the details of Bumblebee's love life down pat."</p><p>She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Speedy took a menacing step towards her tormentor, who inched backwards on reflex.</p><p>"Okay, creepazoid," said the irritated Titan. "I think you've said enough."</p><p>Yet, miraculously, Control Freak continued speaking.</p><p>"Oh, my dear, sweet, precious Titans," he said shakily, half-gloating and half-gushing. "this was the perfect way to knock you all off your game, and even turn you against each other."</p><p>He simpered at the twins. They glanced at each other, faces full of remorse before they turned back to the self-satisfied villain. His expression soon faded and was replaced with fear.</p><p>A smile unfurled across Bumblebee's lips.</p><p>"Well, your plan has clearly failed," she said, stepping aside. "But you know, it <em>was</em> quite a scheme. For thinking up something <em>so </em>diabolical, you definitely deserve some type of award. An exclusive 'Titans East' stamp of approval, if you will…"</p><p>"Huh?" asked Control Freak, stars gleaming in his eyes. "Really?"</p><p>"Mhm," she replied.</p><p>"<em>Y aquí está,</em>" said the twins, landing a double-sucker punch to the villain's face and knocking him out. He'd eventually wake up to find that his "stamp" took the form of matching black eyes.</p><p>Bumblebee put her hands on her hips. "And that's on periodt."</p><hr/><p>In the few days after the incident at the prison, Control Freak had been made to deliver a public apology to the Titans East on primetime television, acknowledging everything he had said as The Real Tea Titans to be premised on baseless claims. On top of that, his fake Tweeter account had officially been deleted. Bumblebee had no doubt countless screenshots of its lurid twits had been taken by users before its deletion.</p><p>Besides all of that, there was something rather interesting that had happened in the time that the rogue account had been active:</p><p>Bumblebee had gained thousands of new followers on all her socials, especially picstagram. Her inbox was now full of girls asking where she got this top and that mini-skirt, along with begging for a "Baddie-How-To" guide. Aqualad had witnessed a sizable increase in followers as well, and the twins had decided to capitalize on all the recent drama by creating their own Waynetube channel. They already had over ten-thousand subscribers, which greatly helped them forget all about their previous beef.</p><p>Speedy took pride in being as off-the-grid as he could manage in their line of work, so there weren't any platforms on which his popularity could flourish in the same ways as his teammates. However, there was now a concerted effort among Titans East's fans to get him to make a Tweeter account.</p><p>She knew <em>that </em>wouldn't be happening any time soon.</p><p>"People keep twitting at Aqualad and trying to solicit your thoughts on K-Pop," she said, leaning against Speedy's work table while he replaced his bowstring.</p><p>"Oh, yay," he replied. "If only they knew the freakin' fountain of wisdom I'm itching to spill on the subject."</p><p>Bumblebee laughed. "What can I say? The public wants your 'spicy take.' Though more people want to know about Aqualad's hair-care routine. Teen Edge mag might even do a feature on it."</p><p>"Well, better that than his questionable dating history," said Speedy.</p><p>"Speedy," she admonished gently, giving him a pointed look with her eyes but maintaining her smile. He grinned back in semi-apology.</p><p>"Anyway," he said. "How are you holding up now that this dumpster fire of a situation has blown over a little?"</p><p>She shrugged. "I don't know, really. Even with Control Freak outing himself and admitting to his lies, there are lots of people who still believe them anyway. I've been getting more than a few people on Tweeter probing about my relationship with Robin. Including everyone's favorite Tamaranean."</p><p>"Damn," said Speedy. "She at-ed you?"</p><p>"Dm-ed. It's weird that Robin didn't do anything to intervene first."</p><p>"Eh, not really," he replied. "It's not really pigeon's style. His skills in diplomacy unfortunately don't apply to, uh, this kinda thing. So, how pissed was Starfire?"</p><p>"Well," said Bumblebee. "She didn't seem pissed at first. More like...confused. It was awkward, though - I had to explain exactly what 'flirting' meant among humans. And then she got pissed. But all it took to resolve the issue was me telling her that the rumor about me flirting with Robin was as true as the one about her preferring Más's hairstyle better than Menos's."</p><p>"Ah," said Speedy, pulling on the newly-installed string and checking its durability. "That's good to hear. How are the twins anyway? I take it by their burgeoning Waynetube career that they're best buds again?"</p><p>"More or less," she said, catching the unintentional pun a second after she had made it. He gave her an amused look.</p><p>"<em>That</em> was corny," he said.</p><p>"I swear I didn't mean to," Bumblebee said, holding up her hands in jest.</p><p>Speedy formed a smile in return, but it soon vanished from his face. He assumed a more sober tone. "Bee," he said. "How are you feeling, really? All that crap Control Freak said about you was beyond messed up."</p><p>She held her arm and avoided his eyes, quiet as she considered her words.</p><p>"I..." she said finally. "I think I'm actually going to be okay."</p><p>He raised an eyebrow, biting back the urge to say "you sure?" like a concerned older...something. He was never totally comfortable with labelling his concern for her as "brotherly." Aqualad could have that title.</p><p>"I'll admit it hurt a lot at first," she continued. "I know it was just petty gossip, but it gets really hard having to deal with everyone scrutinizing you. Like, I correspond with Hotspot and Robin because we're all team leaders and have to check in from time to time. But I guess when you're a girl, any confident interaction you have with a guy is automatically seen by judgmental morons as flirtatious."</p><p>"Guess so."</p><p>There was another pregnant pause.</p><p>"I've been thinking," said Bumblebee. "What if I <em>do</em> flirt with guys? What if I do go out with them and have fun and I'm not a-a-well, you know, <em>that</em> word-anymore."</p><p>Speedy's eyes were glued to the table below him. <em>What the hell am I supposed to say here?</em> he thought, hoping the panic he was experiencing wasn't evident on his face.</p><p>"I mean," he said. "There's nothing wrong-well, <em>you</em> know best-that is to say-it's <em>totally</em> up to-"</p><p>She cut him off before he could crash and burn any worse than he was already crashing and burning.</p><p>"It's no one's business but mine," she said, fist righteously clenched. "I make my own decisions, wear what I wanna wear, do what I wanna do, and as long as it doesn't affect how I kick bad-guy butt, I don't know why people stay so pressed about it, y'know? I never hear them fuss about this stuff when it comes to dudes."</p><p>He coughed. "Ahem, yeah. Damn straight. It ain't right."</p><p>"Like, what kind of loser religiously keeps track of whether a teenage girl is still a virgin, anyway?" she said. "What is this, the 1950s? Virginity's not even a real thing."</p><p>His shoulders felt as taut as his bowstring.</p><p>"B-but, like," she said, becoming timid. "I mean, even if...like, let's say a <em>hypothetical</em> sixteen year-old was still what society might consider a 'virgin,' that would be okay...wouldn't it? Not 'okay' in like she's doing good on maintaining some weird puritan values, just 'okay' as in she just hasn't found the right..."</p><p>He took a deep breath and gave Bumblebee a sidelong glance.</p><p>"I think you already know the answer to that," Speedy said, voice smooth and reassuring. "hypothetically, of course."</p><p>He winked at her. Odd as it was, she was getting used to that.</p><p>"You said it yourself," he said, unscrewing a bottle of resin. "You do what you wanna do. Which means you also don't do what you don't wanna do. And that's that."</p><p>They were silent again for a moment. She didn't express her gratitude aloud, but her pretty smile communicated the sentiment well enough.</p><p>Bumblebee cleared her throat. "But even if I <em>do</em> eventually wanna do it-"</p><p>"Is Al around, Bee?" he asked, ears turning pink. Speedy could only handle so much of this kind of talk from her. In his opinion, the touchy-feely-Sixteen-magazine crap was way more Aqualad's department.</p><p>She pressed the tips of her sneakers together, feeling embarrassed. His eyes softened.</p><p>"You're good, Bee," he said. "You're fine. Everything's fine. Don't waste another thought on whether or not the rest of the world says otherwise."</p><p>She beamed. "Right."</p><p>Tentatively, Bumblebee reached out and touched his shoulder. Her hands were soft against the thin white fabric of his T-shirt. "Thanks."</p><p>He nodded. She turned to leave, but then looked back at him. "Hey," she said. "I'm sorry Control Freak said what he said about you, too. It was-"</p><p>"Pure heresy," finished Speedy, wearing a relaxed grin. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I willingly listen to any douchey eighties metal band."</p><p>"Uh huh," she said with a small chuckle. "By the way - I'm making smoothies again for Más and Menos. You want one?"</p><p>"Sure," he replied. "Hit me with a mango-strawberry. I'll be out in ten."</p><p>"You got it," replied Bumblebee, giving him a thumbs up as she walked out of the garage.</p><p>Despite his leisurely exterior, on the inside Speedy remained wound up from their conversation. His ears were also still pink.</p><p><em>Just gotta find some way to chill out</em>, he thought.</p><p>When he was sure that the door was firmly closed and Bumblebee was out of earshot, he pulled out his phone. Holding down the home button, he commanded in a clear voice:</p><p>"Play: One Connection."</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Now who do you think you are</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Puttin' your cheap two cents in?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don't you got nothin' to do</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Than worry 'bout my friends? Check it!</em>
</p><p>-Salt-N-Pepa, "None of Your Business"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>[END: TRACK 2]</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Technically "Tweeter" is canon in the DC Animated Universe...hehe</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Story Description: Get ready to encounter many guest stars, and one OC ;)</p><p>Genre: teen dramedy, action</p><p>Rating: T</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>[PLAYING: TRACK 3]</strong>
</p><p>Humans were strange. Aqualad had thought as much ever since he had begun living life topside. Other than the blatant disrespect towards nature, astonishingly low standards of hygiene, and irrational fear of sharks over, say, mall cops who carried guns, he found one thing about humans to be particularly mystifying:</p><p>They could just be so...rigid.</p><p>He spent more than a few long, solitary hours in his pool musing over why so many humans adhered to strict norms when it came to interacting with their own kind. Showing affection, especially, was something they seemed to view as equivalent to navigating a minefield. It was mind-boggling to him that humans who possessed far more freedom and privilege than others would still walk around as if they had invisible walls restricting their actions. Such dynamics were vastly different from what he had known in Atlantis. Relations and identities tended to be more fluid there.</p><p>With that said, the world was often terrible both above and under the sea. This was in part why Aqualad considered the tenderness and care shared between friends to be most precious. These bonds were also of noted importance to him given how lonely his first few years of existence had been.</p><p>Darkness from his early childhood haunted him even now. Though, the person who had eventually taken him in had ushered light into his life. That person had taught him to care for himself and others, honing his talent as a magician and a healer, and had also showered him with the love every child on earth deserved and then some.</p><p>Yet the fears of abandonment, of being shunned, of being unwanted, always lingered. They were like stubborn ghosts that never left him alone.</p><p>Dealing with them had become much worse since his best friend, and first love, had died. Her death had occurred just one year ago, after which he had realized no comfort or advice from his adoptive guardian could chase the ghosts away. So when the seventeen year-old had said he needed to go out on his own and work things out for himself, what could his mentor have done but let him? Let him go and pray to the gods that the lonely little child with violet-black eyes he had watched grow into a wistful teenager would find his path. As much as he loved the boy, the man had his own affairs to consider: a pregnant Queen to care for, a new mentee that required his guidance and support, a kingdom to rule.</p><p>Aqualad had not told his mentor this, but something that had further motivated his adoptive son's departure was what the boy feared to be a waning relationship between the two. Aqualad preferred to suppress the thought instead of confessing it; for if he confessed to it, it would have been made too real to process. Instead, he put his mind to riding the waves in a new direction, going to where-ever or whomever they led him. It was the way of all young people who came of age in their kingdom, after all. His mentor knew he would return when he was ready.</p><p>The waves had led Aqualad to the Teen Titans and formation of the Titans East. Titans East Tower was his new home. The Titan East were his extremely dysfunctional and bizarre new family.</p><p>At present, he was suspended in still water, just hovering over the bottom of the tower's expansive indoor pool. There were zero fish or other sea creatures with whom he could converse.</p><p>It was three in the morning on a Sunday and he was wide awake, mulling over the events of the past weekend.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Friday</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>Aqualad watched Bumblebee clasp her hands behind her back and, with much concentration, crunch a leaf under the pointed toe of her black boot. Her body language communicated that stepping on leaves interested her more than the tall, hooded hero in front of her. Aqualad found this quite odd, since he knew for a fact that she was very interested in him: this staggeringly cool boy who favored dark blue, wore a silver domino mask, did reality-bending things with a trumpet and liked to chill in alternate dimensions for fun.</p><p>His official name was "The Herald," but people typically dropped the "the" in casual conversation. Most people other than Bumblebee, of course. She had been talking to him for about ten minutes, and in that ten minutes she had managed to call him "The Herald" three times, even after he had assured her that "Herald" was fine. It was a nervous tic that manifested every time they met.</p><p>"<em>Oh thanks, the Herald…"</em></p><p>"<em>You're so great with that horn, the Herald…"</em></p><p>"<em>My bad, I know I can just call you 'Herald,' the Herald—oh, I mean Herald! Sorry!"</em></p><p>Speedy was standing next to Aqualad and shaking his head. From a distance, her two teammates watched their normally bold and self-assured leader proceed to stumble over her words and throw furtive glances in every direction but at Herald's face. His teammates - Jericho, Pantha, Argent, and Kid Flash - were watching the scene play out as well, not sure if they should find it cute or cringe-worthy.</p><p>"I don't get it," said Aqualad, pensively holding his chin. "She's always so confident. Why doesn't she just ask him out? "</p><p>Speedy was amused by the suggestion. "You really haven't spent much time on land, have you Al?"</p><p>Frowning, he didn't say anything in response. <em>No</em>, Aqualad thought. <em>I guess I haven't.</em></p><hr/><p>"You're SO great with that horn," Speedy teased, leaning over the side of the passenger's seat and doing a very poor imitation of Bumblebee's voice. "<em>the </em>Herald."</p><p>"Shut up," said Bumblebee, glaring at him from over a copy of <em>Sixteen </em>magazine. Aqualad listened to their back-and-forth quietly from behind the wheel of the Wasp, steering the vehicle through a tunnel of pinkish clouds. Más and Menos, exhausted from the mission, were knocked-out next to their leader with drool spilling from the corners of their open mouths.</p><p>"You're so into him, it ain't even funny," said Speedy.</p><p>"I am not," she snapped. "I just think he's...cool."</p><p>Speedy scoffed. "Since when are jazz band kids cool?"</p><p>"<em>Oh</em> my gosh," she said, slapping the magazine down onto her lap. "You're only saying that 'cus you're jealous."</p><p>He snorted. "Me? Jealous of that dude? Good one."</p><p>"It's true," she insisted. "You're jealous of him because he's a million times cooler than you. And a talented musician. And super deep!"</p><p>Speedy rolled his eyes. "Right. What's Herald and Jericho's little two-man band called again? Whisper vortex? Vortex whisper? Gee, that's <em>so</em> profound. I just gotta check them out on soundcave. I bet their music is all about how we like...live in a society 'n stuff."</p><p>"If you actually listened to their music, you'd think it was amazing."</p><p>"Really," he inquired skeptically. "And since when are you into 'experimental dark wave neo-soul folk rock'?"</p><p>Flustered, Bumblebee stammered her response. "Umm, w-well—since always! My tastes are very eclectic. What would you know, anyway? You got no taste."</p><p>"Right, okay."</p><p>"Yeah," she said, muttering the rest of her comment under breath: "you got no taste in music or the opposite sex."</p><p>"You say something, Bee?" asked Speedy.</p><p>"<em>No,</em>" Bumblebee answered, sticking out her tongue.</p><p>His brow creased with irritation as he drew his lips into a tight smile. "Well, at least I can talk to girls while maintaining eye contact. But I guess it ain't too hard, since they're always staring at me."</p><p>He used a vain, "ta-da"-type gesture with his open palm for emphasis. Bumblebee stared back at him, not the least bit impressed.</p><p>"That's because all the girls you're into are psychopaths with crazy eyes," she retorted with a biting grin, in a voice that was as perky as it was spiteful.</p><p>Speedy seethed in return, opening his mouth to deliver a sharp comeback of his own.</p><p>"Okay, you guys," said Aqualad, breaking his silence before Speedy could say anything. "Let's all try and be kind to one another."</p><p>His teammates glowered at each other.</p><p>"Whatever," they said simultaneously, both shifting their attention elsewhere. Bumblebee returned to her magazine, while Speedy reclined back in his seat and gazed out at the sunset.</p><p>"If you don't mind me saying, Bee," Aqualad reasoned. "It <em>is </em>pretty obvious that you really like Herald. And I'm sure he likes you too. Why not just ask him if he wants to go on a date?"</p><p>Her face burned at the thought.</p><p>"I can't," she said.</p><p>"Why not?" asked Aqualad.</p><p>"I just can't!" she exclaimed, waking the twins and nearly making him slam the breaks.</p><p>Speedy yawned, pulling his cap down over his face and closing his eyes.</p><p>"Don't bother, Al," he said. "This one doesn't listen to reason."</p><p>Aqualad stayed optimistic. "Come on, it can't be that hard."</p><p>"Face it," said Speedy. "Girls always make things waaay more difficult than they need to be."</p><p>"I don't think gender has anything to do with it," said Aqualad. "I bet tons of human girls pursue the objects of their affection without a second thought."</p><p>Bumblebee maintained her silence, crumpling the cover and back of the magazine she had spread in her hands.</p><p>"I mean, it's no different than how someone like...like <em>you </em>would act, right, Speedy?" he inquired.</p><p>"Uh huh," Speedy said absentmindedly, beginning to doze off.</p><p>Aqualad glanced at him. "I mean, wouldn't you approach a girl you were interested in and say, in a polite and straightforward manner, 'I really think you're great. Would you like to go out sometime?'"</p><p>At that, he cracked open an eye. "Are you crazy, fish boy? Of course not."</p><p>Bumblebee's looked triumphant. "Ha!"</p><p>"Silencio!" said Más crankily. He recoiled when their leader shot him a stern look.</p><p>"Ay," Menos added. "No puede un chico dormir un poco por aquí? Necesito mi beauty sleep si voy a ver a chicas británicas mañana!"</p><p>Aqualad released a deep sigh of defeat.</p><p>Yes, humans could be rigid - in ways that he thought were rarely of any benefit to them or their relationships.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Saturday</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>Yet while they had trouble with showing others their appreciation, humans were old pros at showing their <em>un</em>appreciation, whether it was aimed toward fellow humans or literally anything else.</p><p>"The music here sucks," grumbled Speedy. "Why'd you pick this spot again?"</p><p>He was crouched between two rafters, in the space where the ceiling beam he was standing on met the wall. It vibrated with the rapid bass rhythm of an industrial techno song.</p><p>"I <em>picked</em> it because it's the cover for Johnny Rancid's illegal underground robot dog fighting ring," Robin replied in annoyance. "Which we're here to break up. Or did you forget?"</p><p>"Hey, it's easy to forget stuff in such a...distracting environment," said Kid Flash, eyeing a girl with a short hemline and long legs that ended in platform Mary-janes. "<em>Dang</em>, there are some serious babes in this town."</p><p>"I see you're already over the break-up," said Aqualad disapprovingly.</p><p>"Please, Al," Speedy said. "You know KF and Jinx are gonna kiss and make up by the end of the week. Just like last time."</p><p>"I don't know, man," Kid Flash contended while his gaze travelled to another girl, this one wearing tight vinyl pants. "She seemed pretty mad yesterday. Almost brought my own tower down on my head."</p><p>"Yeah, so? That sounds like any other night of webflix and chill for you two," said Speedy.</p><p>"Boys, focus!"</p><p>The chipper voice nearly deafened all four of them, cutting sharp and clear through the commlink: an impressive feat considering how loud the music was.</p><p>"W-Wonder Girl," said Robin, gritting his teeth through the painful ringing in his ears. "You need to adjust the volume in your headset."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>They winced again as a feedback screech penetrated their eardrums.</p><p>"<em>Your headset</em>," Robin said again hoarsely. "Turn the volume down."</p><p>"Oh, my apologies!" Her teammates keeled over in their positions. There was a pause as she adjusted the device accordingly.</p><p>"Am I good now?" she asked, thankfully at a normal pitch.</p><p>"Yes, you are.," said Aqualad, relieved.</p><p>"Though I do think we all have serious hearing damage," remarked Kid Flash.</p><p>"I didn't mean to, honest!" said Wonder Girl. "Please, I am new to being a Teen Titan. I really hope you all can forgive me."</p><p>Her tone instantly made him regret his words.</p><p>"Uh, no worries at all!" said Kid Flash in a hurry. "You're doing great. 'Sides, if you think you need it, I can always give you a <em>personal </em>tech tutorial after the mission."</p><p>"Oh, barf," Speedy said in disgust. "Lay off the girl, will ya, KF? Any tutorial you'd give would probably leave her with severe brain atrophy."</p><p>"I wasn't talking to you, arrows," Kid Flash shot back. "Why don't you go put on a long blonde wig and find a nice little dwarf to play with?"</p><p>"Shut. Up<em>.</em> Both of you. We are supposed to be on a mission," Robin hissed, getting very hot around his spandex collar.</p><p>"Yessir, commander bird-boy, sir," said Speedy. "What are your orders?"</p><p>"Speedy, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that first part," he said. "But all right you guys, pay attention. I have literally spent days mapping out our every move for tonight. As long as we all maintain our positions and strike when I give the signal, I am positive things will go exactly according to plan."</p><hr/><p>Things absolutely did not go according to plan.</p><p>Prior to his squad's departure, Robin had calculated the time it would take them to complete the mission. The predicted duration clocked in at one hour, tops. Their job was to stealthily infiltrate, acutely intercept, and solidly shut down Johnny Rancid's operation - all with minimal damage to the city and cause for public mania. They'd carry everything out with flawless coordination, easy peasy.</p><p>As it happens, they had now been at the club for three hours, and their commlink was thoroughly kaput. Johnny Rancid and his hulking, tattooed subordinates were fighting Robin and Wonder Girl in the basement, ordering the gang's mechanical pets to turn the pair into dog food. Upstairs, a giant robot rottweiler ("It's a Robottweiler!" Kid Flash had said, right before it lunged viciously at him) with a laser blaster built into its back was on the loose. Kid Flash was trying to prevent it from incinerating the frantic club-goers, most of whom were screaming and wetting themselves. Speedy and Aqualad were busy aiding their teammate. At least, they had been until a seven-foot-tall, chain and wife-beater wearing wolf man with a cybernetic arm had descended on them. The two had then become preoccupied with fighting him, or - perhaps more accurately - not getting murdered by him.</p><p>They had dodged a punch that had blown straight through the club's back wall. From there, they had fled through the hole into the alleyway to draw the rogue away from civilians.</p><p>"You want some of this?" growled the cyborg-werewolf-dude-monster-thing, cracking his metal knuckles.</p><p>"That's funny," Speedy said. "your girl asked me the same thing last night. Then she left her dog collar at my place."</p><p>Their large opponent bared his razor-sharp teeth, fat blobs of saliva splashing onto the ground.</p><p>"What the hell did you just say?" he asked.</p><p>"Sorry, did I say 'your girl'? I meant your mom."</p><p>"Speedy, for the love of guppies, please be quiet," begged Aqualad. Foaming at the mouth, the man charged at them.</p><p>"Oh come on, Al," Speedy replied as they leapt out of the villain's warpath. "You really don't think we can take this lightweight?"</p><p>"Lightweight? He's definitely stronger than me - and <em>I </em>have Atlantean strength," said Aqualad. "You have normal human strength. And you're out of arrows!"</p><p>"A minor set back," replied Speedy, wielding his bow like a melee weapon. "Hey fido, come get your kibble!"</p><p>The archer started to make a kissing noise.</p><p>"Who's a good boy? <em>Who's</em> a good boy?" he jeered. The wolf man, whose yellow eyes were crazed, let out a howl that could be heard for miles.</p><p>"Aw, don't make me put a muzzle on you now," said Speedy, wagging his finger.</p><p>Aqualad looked on, face white with terror. The minutes that followed were very long and very, very painful.</p><p>"Okay guys, I got good news and bad news!" said, Kid Flash, appearing in the hole. "The good news is that I saved everyone from the Robottweiler. It's currently in pieces on the dance floor. The bad news is that it managed to hurt my ankle pretty bad before I took it apart..."</p><p>He entered the alley and limped towards the two other boys, noticing that Aqualad was panting hard and holding Speedy upright. The latter sported a large bruise visible around the left corner of his mask, a gruesomely bloody nose, and the broken half of a bow in his hand.</p><p>"Duuude, are you okay?" asked Kid Flash.</p><p>Speedy gave him a bitter smile, a trail of blood running down his lips and staining his teeth.</p><p>"What the heck does it look like?" he asked.</p><p>"Oh, well," said Kid Flash, cocking his head. "It looks like you got your butt kicked real bad."</p><p>He felt hot, damp breathing against his back.</p><p>"Crap," he said. "That wolf guy is right behind me, isn't he?"</p><p>Speedy and Aqualad nodded. Kid Flash whipped around, wincing when a searing pain shot through his leg. The man snarled and raised his cybernetic fist while the Titan under him remained wide-eyed and frozen in place.</p><p>"KF, get out of the way!" cried Aqualad, but his teammate could only cross his arms over his head.</p><p>Suddenly, a barrage of flying discs collided with the man, exploding on contact. Smoke filled the alley and clouded his vision.</p><p>"Titans, move!" came a familiar voice. Kid Flash felt a hand grab his shoulder.</p><p>"Don't worry, I got you," Robin reassured in the boy's ear. He slung Kid Flash's arm over his shoulder and guided him away. Aqualad trailed behind with a concussed Speedy. Robin tossed a silver sphere at the man, and it bounced off him and burst into a spider-claw contraption that clamped around his torso.</p><p>"That won't hold him for long," said Robin. "So let's get some distance while we can."</p><p>They all escaped onto the street and managed to travel a few blocks. Aqualad let Speedy onto the ground, leaning him gently against a car. Robin did the same thing with Kid Flash. The two able Titans stood in front of their injured teammates. Aqualad summoned the water out of a nearby fire hydrant. It rose above their heads in a swirling torrent. Robin assumed a fighting stance.</p><p>"Where's Wonder Girl?" asked Kid Flash.</p><p>"She's still inside, keeping an eye on Johnny Rancid and his goons," Robin replied.</p><p>"You left her <em>alone</em> with them?" said Speedy in disbelief.</p><p>"She tied them up pretty tight with her lasso," Robin said.</p><p>"So?" retorted Speedy. "What if they find a way to get free? She'll have to fight them off by herself!"</p><p>"She said she could handle it."</p><p>"Don't give me that," he said angrily. "You left a girl alone with a bunch of sleazy villain dudes twice her size!"</p><p>"That <em>girl</em> can crush a car like a can," said Robin. "Wonder Girl can protect herself. And others too. Which is why I left her in charge of attending to the people in the club. I have faith in her, Speedy."</p><p>"It's not like I don't," Speedy replied. "But she's inexperienced, Robin."</p><p>"And you three would have been mincemeat if I hadn't showed up," Robin countered.</p><p>"I coulda handled myself," snapped Speedy.</p><p>"Doubtful," said Aqualad.</p><p>"Can it, fish boy."</p><p>"Uh, guys?" said Kid Flash, pointing. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I think Mr. Tall, Robotic, and Furry wants to play again."</p><p>Broken free of his restraints, the wolf man was bounding towards them on all fours. Aqualad began hosing a large jet of water at him, managing to slow him down.</p><p>"What else you got in that utility belt, Rob?" asked Speedy.</p><p>"Nothing," replied Robin.</p><p>"<em>What?</em>" he said in alarm. "You're out of toys?"</p><p>"Yeah, but I've still got my fighting skills."</p><p>Speedy laughed dryly. "Hate to break it to you, but a judo kick isn't going to be enough to stop that thing. I tried that already and look what happened to me."</p><p>"I'm a better martial artist than you."</p><p>"In your dreams, pigeon."</p><p>"Guys, can we concentrate on the matter at hand?" asked Aqualad desperately as the hydrant water dissipated.</p><p>"You mean the matter of us getting slaughtered?" said Kid Flash.</p><p>The man, now fully soaked, sprinted at them with a manic expression.</p><p>"Um. Yeah," Aqualad replied, his hope fading by the second.</p><p>"Well, dudes," said Speedy. "it's been nice knowing ya."</p><p>The coppery taste of blood had filled his mouth. Kid Flash gulped. Robin held his ground, looking determined, but his heart was about to beat through his chest.</p><p>The man let out a beastly, guttural sound and pounced. The four Titans braced themselves for impact, and possibly death.</p><p>
  <em>SMACK.</em>
</p><p>Seemingly out of nowhere, the rogue flew to the side and shot into the neighboring alley like a tennis ball. He smashed into a wall, stuck on its cracked surface for a few seconds before whimpering and falling pitifully into the dumpster below him. Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash, and Robin were all stunned.</p><p>Mouths hanging open, they watched as Wonder Girl glided into view. The muscled teenage heroine, dressed in a form-fitting, sleeveless crimson jumpsuit with ornate gold shoulder plates, was looking over her shoulder in the wolf man's direction. She was also in a sitting position several feet above the ground, appearing to be seated on nothing but air. Her hands were holding onto something in front of her.</p><p>Wonder Girl turned towards her teammates.</p><p>"Great Hera!" she said, beaming. "I am <em>so</em> glad I got permission to drive the invisible jet tonight!"</p><hr/><p>An entire battalion of police cars and ambulances had arrived on the scene before Wonder Girl had gone off to save the boys. Their team was lucky the authorities had shown up when they did, or she wouldn't have been able to leave her post.</p><p>She and Robin were talking to the police chief, whose men were taking in all the members of the successfully-busted robot dog-fighting ring. Speedy and Kid Flash were receiving medical attention from a couple of paramedics. Aqualad was sitting on the curb in front of the club's entrance, catching his breath.</p><p><em>Sweet Poseidon, </em>he thought. <em>What a night.</em></p><p>"You okay?" asked a masculine voice from behind him. Aqualad shifted around to see a young man that looked to be about his age. He was wearing a fishnet shirt and leather pants, had luscious brown hair, and was looking down at the Atlantean with striking green eyes.</p><p>Lost in the handsome stranger's arresting gaze, Aqualad found it hard to form words.</p><p>"I…" he replied, beginning to stutter. "G-god. I mean 'good'!" I mean <em>I'm good</em>. Err no, wait, I—oh, suffering sardines. I mean yes, I'm okay."</p><p>The stranger smiled. "I'm glad," he said. "You Titans went through so much to protect us from Johnny Rancid and his goons. I saw Speedy and the flash kid got hurt. I was worried that you might have gotten hurt too."</p><p>His concerned tone made Aqualad's insides flutter.</p><p>"No need for worry," he said, running a hand through his shiny black hair while attempting a subtle flex of his bicep. "I'm a lot stronger than I look."</p><p><em>Since when do I have this much bravado? </em>he wondered. <em>I think I may be hanging around Speedy too much.</em></p><p>"Yeah, I noticed that when you punched that huge robot dog across the room," replied the young man with a small chuckle. "May I join you?"</p><p>Aqualad made a confused face. "Huh?"</p><p>"On the curb," he said. He could almost see the gears turning in the other boy's head.</p><p>"Oh," said Aqualad, glancing down at the sidewalk. "Yeah, of course."</p><p>He scooted over to make room for his guest, who took a seat next to him.</p><p>"My name's Beroe," the boy said.</p><p>Aqualad was taken aback.</p><p>"Beroe?" he said. "Like the Greek sea nymph, Beroe?"</p><p>Beroe shrugged. "Something like that, I guess," he said. "My parents were really into mythology when they were young. I never dwelled much on the meaning of my name. I was too busy avoiding the bullies who made fun of me for it."</p><p>Brow furrowing, Aqualad scraped at the cement beneath him with his fingernails.</p><p>"I'm sorry," he said. "Humans can be really cruel."</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"I'm Aqualad, by the way."</p><p>Beroe laughed. It was a lovely sound.</p><p>"I know," he said. "You're a member of Steel's very own Titans East. Everyone here knows who you are."</p><p>Aqualad reddened. "Oh, yeah. Duh. I'm dumb."</p><p>"No, you're not," Beroe replied, leaning in a bit closer. "You're a hero."</p><p>The night may have been chilly, but Aqualad could still feel a rush of warmth spread over his body.</p><p>"Thanks," he said, a little embarrassed.</p><p>"You're from Atlantis too, right?" inquired Beroe.</p><p>Aqualad nodded. "Mhm."</p><p>The boy's eyes were alight with intrigue.</p><p>"That's really cool," he said. "I've never met an Atlantean before. You're the only one I see around here and I've...I've always wanted to talk to you face-to-face."</p><p>"Well, now you are," replied Aqualad with a hint of playfulness.</p><p>There was a sharp intake of breath from Beroe's end. However, his face didn't show any signs of nervousness. The city street bustled around them, filled with bright lights and the sounds of honking cars. Yet Beroe could swear that he and Aqualad existed in a bubble. The space between them felt as placid as the rolling tide under a clear night sky.</p><p>"Yes," said Beroe. "I am. It's...nice. Like a dream, or something. Like a serene dream about the ocean."</p><p>A flush of pink colored Beroe's cheeks. "Sorry, that was probably really cheesy," he said ruefully.</p><p>"It's okay," assuaged Aqualad. "I'm told Atlanteans have that effect on humans."</p><p>A short silence ensued, though it wasn't awkward. Aqualad used it to think through his next words.</p><p>"So, you come to these kinds of clubs often?" he asked.</p><p>Beroe avoided his cool stare. "Not really. Some friends invited me. They lent me these clothes too," he said, pulling at his shirt humorously. "But I do like to try new things."</p><p>Aqualad nodded. "It's good to be open. Though I suppose you're regretting your decision to be open on this particular night at this particular place."</p><p>Beroe laughed again, gaze returning to the other boy. He admired the elegant shape of his jaw and swan-like neck.</p><p>"I will admit that I didn't really expect the place to get overrun by robot animals," he said. "But I wouldn't say I regret my decision to come."</p><p>Their eyes locked like clockwork.</p><p>"That's a beautiful crown," said Beroe, studying the regal, silvery-white band of shells covering Aqualad's hairline. "It's so simple but refined at the same time. Does it have some special cultural meaning in Atlantis?"</p><p>Aqualad's hand went reflexively to his forehead.</p><p>"Err, yes," he said, his features smoothing into a debonair expression. "Culturally it means that, well, I'm a...prince."</p><p>If they were in some sappy romance novel, his teeth would have <em>pinged.</em></p><p>"Oh, wow," said Beroe in amazement. "That's awesome."</p><p>"It's all right," shrugged off Aqualad. <em>Yep</em>, he thought. <em>I've definitely been hanging around Speedy too much</em>.</p><p>"Yo, fish boy!"</p><p>He screwed his eyes shut in frustration. <em>Speaking of whom...</em></p><p>Opening his eyes, Aqualad turned in the direction of the obnoxious voice. Speedy, whose face exhibited fresh bandages, was standing next to Kid Flash, who was on a single crutch with his leg wrapped up neatly.</p><p>"Get your scaly ass in the car," yelled Speedy. "We're going home!"</p><p>Aqualad glared.</p><p>"Sorry," he said to Beroe as they both stood. "My teammate can be a little...well, you know."</p><p>"No, it's fine," Beroe replied, shaking his head. "You gotta jet. I get it."</p><p>Aqualad tucked a silky black strand behind his webbed ear.</p><p>"I really liked talking to you," he said.</p><p>"I liked talking to you too," said Beroe, his green eyes glittering in the moonlight. "I'd like to talk to you again sometime, if that's okay."</p><p>There was something in the boy's voice that Aqualad couldn't quite distinguish. However, it made his insides stir. It coaxed out feelings that both thrilled and unsettled him. He couldn't track where one emotion ended and another began.</p><p>"It's more than okay," he said.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Sunday</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>"Hail Aphrodite!" proclaimed Wonder Girl from behind the wheel. "What a phenomenal development, my sea-born friend! That the very first few minutes of a new day should start like this is evidence that the Gods have smiled upon you. I am bursting with joy."</p><p>Aqualad was grinning from ear-to-ear.</p><p>"Why thank you, my Amazonian sister," he replied from the passenger's side, good-naturedly matching her noble diction. She tended to speak like that when she was excited.</p><p>"Yeah," said Kid Flash. "I got zero numbers tonight, so I'm glad my boy here walked away with at least one. Not that it's too surprising, since you're almost as handsome as me."</p><p>Speedy lightly shoved him. "Dude, literally none of us think that. Not even me, and I have some serious brain-fog right now."</p><p>Kid Flash made a face at his teammate.</p><p>"Excuse you," he said, proceeding to then give their driver a pointed look while waggling his eyebrows. "Wonder Girl thinks so, don't you, my little filo pastry?"</p><p>She smiled brightly. "I think you and Aqualad are equally good-looking. And I adore the both of you like brothers!"</p><p>Speedy smirked. Kid Flash sighed and sunk back in his invisible seat. "Great…"</p><p>Robin laughed, reaching over from behind to touch Aqualad's shoulder.</p><p>"I'm happy for you, Aqualad," he said, his hand warm and comforting even through the kevlar glove.</p><p>Aqualad threw him an appreciative glance, about to say something when Speedy interjected.</p><p>"So, when's the date?" he asked.</p><p>"You guys should go down to the pier next weekend," suggested Kid Flash. "It's a classic first date spot. And I heard that they're opening a tunnel of love."</p><p>"First of all," challenged Speedy. "Where did you hear that? You don't even live here. Second, why would Al want to go there? He's pretty much around water twenty-four-seven."</p><p>"Your point being? Wait, I have an even better idea," Kid Flash said as if epiphany had struck. "Take the dude <em>under</em> water. Show him all the fishes and coral and...I don't know, the other stuff in the ocean."</p><p>"Uhhh?" said Speedy. "I don't think Beroe can breathe underwater?"</p><p>"I know that. That's why Al should take him in one of those air-bubble thingies," replied Kid Flash.</p><p>"I'm still not really good at maintaining those over an extended period of time," said Aqualad, rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>"Aw, come on, I bet being around a hot guy would up your magical mojo for a night," said Kid Flash, after which he immediately blanched. "I mean, not that <em>I</em> think he's hot. 'Cus you know, I'm not...well, obviously there's anything wrong with-um-"</p><p>Like always, Robin came to the rescue.</p><p>"Regardless of where you two go," he said. "I'm sure you'll both have a great time together."</p><p>"Oh yeah, me too. In fact, I bet he'll be the one to come up with the romantic itinerary," said Speedy, the white eyes of his mask somehow giving off a suggestive glint. "He did ask you for your number first."</p><p>A pale fuchsia blush bloomed across Aqualad's face. His grin remained as he looked through the floor of Wonder Girl's jet.</p><p>"Hear, hear!" declared Wonder Girl, punching a fist in the air as she smoothly landed the jet on top of Titans East Tower.</p><hr/><p>Robin was never one to impose. However, Wonder Girl had never seen the inside of Aqualad and Speedy's house, and when the young Amazon wanted to do something, everyone else usually went along with it as well. So instead of dropping off and saying goodbye to the members of Titans East, Robin found himself being dragged into their tower by the arm, which was nearly bruising under Wonder Girl's tight grip.</p><p>"Great Hera!" she said as they all ambled into the living area. "Your home is magnificent!"</p><p>"What, this old place?" quipped Speedy.</p><p>Her stare swept over the space in front of her, which was a calming shade of cerulean that matched her eyes. At the center of the main balcony was the team's round table, bearing a large "T." They walked past it and over to the left, where a sleek and modern couch was stationed in front of a hanging, ultra-wide panoramic television screen.</p><p>Lounging on the couch were three girls in pajamas, one of whom seemed very alarmed.</p><p>"Wonder Girl? Kid Flash? <em>Robin?</em>" exclaimed Bumblebee, adjusting her honey-comb patterned bonnet and scrambling to her feet. "What are you-I didn't know you'd be-Speedy, Aqualad, you are <em>so</em> dead."</p><p>"What?" asked Speedy, unfazed by her livid stare. It looked much less intimidating when she was wearing pink sweatpants and a tiny tank-top that said "Not Your Honey" in cursive.</p><p>"You should have told me beforehand they'd be coming over," hissed Bumblebee.</p><p>"Clearly," he replied. "Yikes, Bee. What the heck is all over your face, dried mint ice cream?"</p><p>"It's a <em>purifying</em> mask, you idiot," she snapped. "It's imported from Korea."</p><p>"Why do you need to import ice cream all the way from Korea?" inquired Kid Flash.</p><p>"It's not made of ice cream! It's-oh, forget it."</p><p>"Please, Bumblebee," Wonder Girl apologized with her head bowed, going to clasp Bumblebee's hand. "Forgive me for my rudeness. I should not have barged in like this. I just really wanted to see the inside of your astonishing home. It is certainly on the cutting edge of technological advancement, no doubt due to your engineering expertise."</p><p>Bumblebee pressed her open palm against her chest, clutching imaginary pearls.</p><p>"Erm, why thank you. I try," she said, taken by Wonder Girl's boldness and kind words.</p><p>"Hey," said Speedy, tone leery. "Didn't Cyborg design most of the-"</p><p>"Shut it, Speedy," interrupted Bumblebee. "She was giving me a compliment."</p><p>He frowned. "Whatever. Rocket, Sable - what's up?"</p><p>Bumblebee's friends waved their hellos. Rocket was a tall, lean, brown-haired girl with a buzzed pixie cut. She had multiple piercings in her ears and one in her nose, and her skin was a shade lighter than Bumblebee's. She was wearing a pair of soft plaid shorts and a band tee full of holes. Aqualad was willing to bet Speedy owned the same shirt, since she and him had a similar taste in music.</p><p>Sable was shorter and fuller-figured than Rocket. She had pointed ears and white-blonde fulani braids that spilled down her back. A pair of dusky, bluish-gray horns grew out of her crown like a stately headdress. Her deep umber complexion, darker than that of the two friends next to her, contrasted dramatically with the large, colorful dashiki draped over her body.</p><p>They weren't close, but every time Aqualad had run into Sable he thought that she was someone with whom people could easily fall in love. She was kind, intelligent, and one of the most beautiful people he had ever seen.</p><p>"Hey," greeted Rocket. "You've definitely looked better, Speedy."</p><p>"Tell me about it," he grumbled, touching his sticky face bandages and wincing. "I haven't bled this bad since that Nun Wanted show we were at last year."</p><p>"Oh yeahhhh," Rocket replied, dazed as the memories rushed back to her. "That was a sick concert. I'm guessing you didn't get <em>that</em> from stage-diving, though."</p><p>She gestured to her own nose and he shook his head. Sable eyed Kid Flash's crutch and wrapped leg. "What happened to you?" she asked him, pointing at the afflicted limb.</p><p>"A giant robot rottweiler," he answered.</p><p>She blinked.</p><p>"We've had a rough night," said Robin, sporting an awkward grin. "Though it's great that we were able to form this squad while all our other teammates are on different missions."</p><p>"And having slumber parties," said Speedy.</p><p>"Hey, you guys said you didn't need our help tonight," Bumblebee replied, taking umbrage. "And we had a full day, what with that unexpected excursion to Metropolis to chase down the Hive Five. Which I guess is now the Hive Four. Or is it still the Hive Five, since there were originally six? <em>Anyway</em>, we've been pulling our weight quite well, thank you very much - especially considering Más and Menos are gone on that mission in the UK with Argent."</p><p>"It's okay, Bee," Aqualad said. "You guys deserve the break, especially since the three of you rarely get to spend time together off-duty. The five of us got through our mission mostly unscathed."</p><p>"Speak for yourself! I nearly lost a leg to that Robottweiler," said Kid Flash, bending over the couch to address Sable in his suavest voice. "If only <em>you </em>had been there to help calm ol' Fido down. I hear you can communicate telepathically with animals."</p><p>"Aha, well," she said, very entertained by his efforts to woo her. "I don't think my powers apply to mechanical animals."</p><p>"Do they apply to human animals?" he asked. "Because if so, then you'd know that I'm thinking-HEY!"</p><p>"Leave Sable alone," said Robin, jerking Kid Flash backwards.</p><p>"Dude, be gentle!" he complained. "I'm injured!"</p><p>"You're gonna be more injured in a second if you don't quit it."</p><p>"Ughhh, you're no fun, bird boy."</p><p>"Anyway, girls," Robin continued, ignoring him. "We're sorry for interrupting your sleepover. KF, Wonder Girl and I should really be on our way."</p><p>Rocket perched herself atop the couch, leaning up towards the masked boy. "Aw, really? I was about to suggest a round of spin-the-bottle."</p><p>"I'm down!" said Kid Flash eagerly.</p><p>"I think I've heard of that game," asked Wonder Girl, tapping her chin. "I don't exactly know the rules, but I would love to learn."</p><p>Robin's face felt hot at the sight of Rocket's entrancing amber eyes and pursed mauve lips.</p><p>"Interested, Boy Wonder?" she asked.</p><p>His fingers went to his head, entangling themselves in his disheveled black hair. "I…"</p><p>Speedy elbowed Robin, whispering into his ear.</p><p>"Think carefully, pigeon," warned Speedy. "Unless you want to wake up to a shower of starbolts."</p><p>"All <em>right</em>," said Bumblebee, hands on her hips, recapturing everyone's attention. "There will be absolutely no spinning of the bottle up in here."</p><p>Kid Flash and Rocket groaned in unison.</p><p>"Phew," said Robin, pulling on his sweaty collar.</p><p>"Is every leader in the Teen Titans required to hate having a good time or something?" asked Rocket, crossing her arms.</p><p>"Yup," said Speedy.</p><p>"I resent that," Bumblebee said. "We were already having a great time. Weren't we, Sable?"</p><p>"Yeah," Sable replied, grabbing a dish from the coffee table. "In fact before you guys came in, Rocket and Bumblebee were about to tell me how much they liked my</p><p>organic-vegan-coconut-apricot-cookies."</p><p>She held up the plate of pale, crumbly yellowish sweets. Two of them had bites taken out of them - very small bites.</p><p>"Right?" she inquired cheerfully at her two friends, who avoided her eyes.</p><p>"Errr…" said Bumblebee.</p><p>"Oooh, can I try one?" asked Kid Flash.</p><p>"Sure," answered Sable.</p><p>"No. No cookies for you," said Robin, pulling Kid Flash by the ear. "We're going."</p><p>"Ow, owwwww," Kid Flash squealed in pain.</p><p>"Again girls, sorry to barge in unannounced!" Robin said, dragging the other boy away. "Hopefully we can all officially hang out together soon. Wonder Girl, we'll be waiting by the jet."</p><p>"Hey, <em>watch </em>the leg," Kid Flash said to Robin and then looked over his shoulder. "Oh, by the way, Bumblebee - Herald told me to tell you he'd call you tomorrow. Which, I guess, is technically today!"</p><p>Her eyes lit up. "Really?"</p><p>"Yeah, he says he can't wait to talk about...Rob, slow down, man, I'm on a crutch here!"</p><p>As they stumbled off, Bumblebee pleaded, "Wait, wait! Talk about what?"</p><p>It was no use; they had already disappeared behind the closing double doors. She sighed.</p><p>"Yeesh, thought they'd never leave," said Speedy, swinging over the couch and planting himself in its soft cushions. He placed his hands behind his head and reclined leisurely in his seat.</p><p>"Now, which one of you wants to tap into your nurturing, feminine sensibilities and replace ya boy's bandages?"</p><p>Blood was dripping down the side of his chin and onto the couch. Bumblebee did not look happy.</p><p>"Leave. Now," she said, speaking in a tone that indicated she was not in a mood to be trifled with at all. However, Speedy was a natural thrill-seeker. Thus, of course he trifled anyway.</p><p>"Aww, why?" he asked. "So you guys can keep talking about boys<em>?</em> Who's the hot topic tonight? Static? Superboy? Yawn. Maybe having a male perspective on girls would balance out your discussion. I happen to know all about what girls want."</p><p>If that were true, then he'd know Bumblebee currently wanted to slap the arrogant grin off his face.</p><p>"What a coincidence, Speedy. So do I," said Rocket, wearing a smug expression of her own. "Actually, all your exes tell me that I know better than you."</p><p>She winked. Wonder Girl nearly choked on a vegan cookie.</p><p><em>Damn</em>, thought Bumblebee. <em>Guess I didn't have to slap him.</em></p><p>Bumblebee high-fived her friend. Speedy wasn't amused in the slightest. Sable and Aqualad, who had been having a pleasant side conversation of their own, burst out laughing.</p><p>"Oh, ha-freakin-ha," Speedy muttered sourly.</p><p>"Come on, Speedy. I can heal you right now, " said Aqualad, chuckling and beckoning his teammate as he began to walk towards the door. "I got all the feminine sensibilities you need."</p><p>"Hey, don't be coming onto me when you're almost a taken man," said Speedy.</p><p>"What?" asked Bumblebee, eyes wide. "Aqualad, since when-"</p><p>"He's exaggerating," said Aqualad, shoving Speedy along. "I'll tell you all about it later. Just go back to your slumber party and have fun."</p><p>"Fine…" she said, smiling as Aqualad left with their grumbling teammate. After the door closed and the girls were alone, Wonder Girl gulped down the rest of her cookie and reached for another one.</p><p>"Boys are weird," she said.</p><p>"I heard that," said Rocket.</p><p>"Ditto," added Sable.</p><hr/><p>Aqualad lowered his hands into the basin in front of him. The water infused into his fingertips simultaneously as his own energy flowed back through the water. Speedy sat on the edge of a hospital bed, eyes focused on the impeccably clean tile below his feet.</p><p>"Ready?" asked Aqualad, who had returned to his side, hands up in front of him and emitting a soft blue glow. In the fluorescent light of the infirmary, Aqualad's supple skin looked translucent. The pale white flesh took on a lilac tinge from the intricate networks of veins underneath.</p><p>"As I'll ever be," said Speedy, pulling the bandages off his nose and gauze out of his nostrils. Despite the harsh lighting and initially sterile feel of the room, the air around them had become quite tranquil.</p><p>Aqualad lifted his hands to Speedy's broken nose. Speedy barely flinched as the other boy began the healing process.</p><p>"You okay?" asked Aqualad. "It doesn't hurt, does it? It shouldn't hurt. It should feel the opposite, like…"</p><p>He trailed off, and Speedy trailed in with his ruggedly fatigued voice.</p><p>"It feels amazing," he sighed. "It's just awkward."</p><p>Aqualad made an inquisitive face. "How?"</p><p>"Never mind."</p><p>He didn't push the subject further. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, Aqualad primarily concentrating on the repair work. Though, he couldn't help when images from earlier that evening began to play through his mind like a slideshow. The image that stuck out most was Speedy's enduring daredevil grin covered in blood after he had been slammed into a brick wall.</p><p>"Why are you like this?" he asked abruptly.</p><p>"Like what?" asked Speedy.</p><p>"You...you just run headfirst into danger," said Aqualad. "Like when we were fighting that wolf man earlier. You kept egging him on even after getting your butt kicked."</p><p>"What was I supposed to do?" Speedy said. "Run away?"</p><p>"No," Aqualad replied. "But you could have kept fighting without trying to get him so angry. The way you were talking to him felt like...like you wanted to get killed or something."</p><p>Speedy smirked. "It ain't a fun mission unless I flirt with death at least once."</p><p>Aqualad frowned. "You shouldn't be so careless with your own life. Especially in our line of work."</p><p>"Eh, who even knows how long I'll be doing this hero gig, anyway," replied Speedy.</p><p>"That's not the point. Right now, you're a Teen Titan."</p><p>"And? Us Titans are always in danger, even when we're not on a mission. Like, an oozing mutant slime monster could literally tear the roof off the Tower right now. So why not lean into the danger? It makes things way more entertaining. Live fast, die young, y'know?"</p><p>Aqualad's eyes narrowed. His hands dropped to his sides, balling into fists.</p><p>"How could you think something so stupid?" he shouted. Speedy was startled by the uncharacteristic rage.</p><p>"Woah," he said calmingly. "Chill, fish boy."</p><p>"I will not <em>chill</em>," snapped Aqualad. "Not when you could care less about the responsibilities you have."</p><p>"I care plenty."</p><p>"No you don't," Aqualad insisted. "You don't care about the responsibilities you have to yourself, or to the people you're supposed to protect, or to your <em>friends</em>…"</p><p>He trailed off again, anger constricting his tongue. Speedy was impassive as he watched his teammate struggle with his emotions. Like Bumblebee, Aqualad hated how listless the boy was sometimes, though he could be tempered like a spitfire on occasion. A lot of times, however, talking to Speedy was as dynamic as talking to the wall that had broken his nose.</p><p>He just sat there in a sloping posture, his exposed, sculpted arms covered with cuts and contusions: a bored and battle-scarred Apollo even without his bow in hand. <em>That's it</em>, thought Aqualad. He was a young, teenage God. He'd gladly take a dive off the top of Mt. Olympus straight into the pit of Hades, just for kicks. Granted, as open as Speedy was when it came to achieving that adrenaline rush, he was still fairly closed off when it came to other issues. <em>Perhaps that was all on purpose,</em> thought Aqualad.</p><p>"Why…" started Aqualad, interrupting the strained quiet between them. "Why would you want to die young?"</p><p>Speedy rolled his eyes. "I don't <em>want</em> to die. But even if I did-so what? The world's a pretty terrible place, Al."</p><p>Aqualad's lips quivered. He didn't need Speedy to tell him that. Although the boy had said it like he was telling a bad joke.</p><p>"But it can also be brilliant," replied Aqualad. "when you have good friends. Don't you think you have good friends?"</p><p>"I have the best friends," said Speedy, staring straight into Aqualad's eyes. There hadn't been a smidgen of jest in that statement.</p><p>"Well you can't keep them if you die," Aqualad said gravely. "You can't save others if you die. You can't learn new things about the world if you die. You can't meet new people if you die. You can't fall in l-"</p><p>Catching sight of Speedy's bemused expression, he cut himself off. Aqualad blushed. In the current lighting it looked like a more vivid shade of purple was intensifying over his thin nose and high cheekbones.</p><p>"Look, Speedy," Aqualad said, now more bashful. "Shouldn't the bonds you have with people who you really care about, and who really care about <em>you</em>, make you think twice about seeing your life in such a disposable manner? Just think how devastated we'd be if something happened to you. How lost we'd be."</p><p>He scoffed. "No one would be lost without me."</p><p>"You're wrong," replied Aqualad. "I would be. Más and Menos would be too. So would Robin, Cyborg, KF, Beast Boy, Wonder Girl...you-you like Wonder Girl, don't you? I mean, you really like her."</p><p>Speedy's eyebrows raised in response to Aqualad's sporadic and forward demeanor, but the surprise didn't reach the rest of his features.</p><p>"Heh, sure. I like a lot of girls," said Speedy, stroking the back of his shoulder and wearing an absentminded smile. "But yeah, she's cool."</p><p>"Bumblebee too, right?"</p><p>At that, Speedy's whole face went red.</p><p>"What's with the third degree, fish boy?" his teammate barked. "Geez, <em>fiiine</em>. I take back the live-fast-die-young-thing. Happy?"</p><p>Aqualad sighed.</p><p>"I guess," he said.</p><p>"Cool. Now can you hurry up and finish healing my face?" asked Speedy irritably. Looking solemn, his teammate nodded. He then lifted his hands and went back to his ministrations, realigning Speedy's bones with a liquid touch.</p><p>After about ten minutes of silence, Speedy was allowed to examine the magician's workmanship. A freckled hand went to find a nose so soft and smooth you'd never know it had ever been broken.</p><p>"Damn, nice job!" said Speedy. "You fixed it perfectly. Really cleared my sinuses too. Thanks, Al."</p><p>Aqualad smiled. "No problem."</p><p>He then cleared his throat. "Ahem, now for the black eye."</p><p>Speedy stared back at him. "No, it's fine. I'll just let that heal on its own."</p><p>"Speedy-"</p><p>"I said it's fine, Aqualad."</p><p>He hadn't raised his voice, but Aqualad could tell he was tense.</p><p>"I won't look," Aqualad assured. "I promise."</p><p>The archer's gaze averted to the basin at his left. "...do you even got enough juice left to heal my eye?"</p><p>"I've got more than enough in my hands alone."</p><p>"Well, have you ever healed someone with your eyes closed?"</p><p>"Sight isn't the key element of this process," said Aqualad, moving in close. "Touch is."</p><p>His glowing hands hovered in front of Speedy's mask. The aura they emitted immediately began to soothe the bruised skin underneath the fabric.</p><p>Speedy tilted his head in a quizzical fashion. His tempting lips formed a smirk.</p><p>"Fish boy," he said, cocky as ever. "You don't <em>actually</em> have the hots for me, do you?"</p><p>"Hold your head straight or I'll give you a black eye to match the one you already have."</p><p>Chuckling, Speedy did as he was told, saying, "Fine, but you gotta close your eyes now."</p><p>"All right," said Aqualad. He closed his eyes and waited, soon hearing a delicate peeling sound.</p><p>"It's off," informed Speedy.</p><p>"Okay, here I go."</p><p>His cool, gel-textured fingertips brushed the injured flesh. Speedy exhaled heavily as he felt the mending of tissues and veins, microscopic streams of vitality flowing through the reconstructed parts.</p><p>The eye took less time than the nose. Within a couple minutes, Aqualad was done.</p><p>"You're all good," he said.</p><p>"Great, thanks," replied Speedy, putting his mask back over the healed skin. "You can open your eyes."</p><p>He saw the black, pupil-less eyes appear once again under epicanthic folds. They looked like shiny obsidian beads, embroidered into an ethereally handsome face. Aqualad gazed back at the black and white domino mask hiding the full extent of his handiwork.</p><p>"A shame I can't see for certain if I got everything right," he said.</p><p>"Hey, you did say seeing wasn't the important thing here," Speedy replied.</p><p>"Doesn't mean that I still don't want to see."</p><p>"Maybe you will," said Speedy, pushing himself off the hospital bed. "one day."</p><p>Aqualad was about to say something, but he continued speaking.</p><p>"<em>Ugghhh," </em>Speedy said, stretching. "welp, I'm beat. I think it's time to turn in."</p><p>The glow left the Atlantean's hands.</p><p>"Yes, I think it is too," he said, walking towards the basin. Draining it, he turned back to his teammate.</p><p>"I wonder if the girls have gone to bed."</p><p>They both jolted in place as a chorus of giggles could be heard from the hallway.</p><p>Speedy made a semi-annoyed face. "Yeah, don't think so."</p><p>Aqualad took a brief moment to straighten out the few things that needed straightening in the room. Afterwards, he walked with Speedy towards the door and shut off the lights. When they exited the infirmary, they saw that Bumblebee, Rocket, and Sable were approaching from the left side of the hall.</p><p>"Girl, I don't know," said Bumblebee, face bright since being cleared of the mint-green "ice cream." "Superboy's cute and everything, but that fade is so nineties…"</p><p>"I'm into it," replied Rocket. "I ain't about to fool with him since he's a total player, but the boy can <em>dress</em>. He be looking fly with that earring and leather jacket."</p><p>"You do have a thing for leather."</p><p>"He doesn't have a thing for me though," said Rocket in mock sadness. "He likes Sable. Ain't that right?"</p><p>She grinned suggestively at the girl in question, who looked away in innocence.</p><p>"I don't know what you're talking about," Sable said. "And as you just implied, Superboy likes every girl he sees."</p><p>"Yes <em>but</em>, he could always change his ways for the right girl," Rocket said. "A babe who can wrestle a lion into submission, maybe?"</p><p>"I would never want to wrestle a lion. Some of my best friends are lions," replied Sable. "Also, we are not switching the topic to me when you still haven't told us what Static texted you a few minutes ago."</p><p>Rocket blushed at the thought. There were not many things that could make her blush.</p><p>"That's right!" said Bumblebee. "You need to spill all the de...oh, hi guys."</p><p>She folded her arms when she saw her two male teammates.</p><p>"Speedy, lookin' good," Rocket said, giving him finger-guns.</p><p>"Thanks, Rox," he said, preening now that his face was fixed-up all nice and pretty. "All due credit goes to Al."</p><p>"Really?" she asked in amazement. "Hey, next time I get bloodied up real bad, I know who to call."</p><p>She winked at Aqualad, who seemed embarrassed by the compliments.</p><p>"You're too kind," he replied.</p><p>At that moment, it dawned upon Speedy that only three out of the four girls he had seen last were present.</p><p>"How long did Wonder Girl hang out with you guys?" he asked.</p><p>"Oh, she dipped a little while after you guys went to the infirmary," answered Bumblebee. "It was great to see her, though."</p><p>Sable nodded. "She's super sweet. But she ate all my cookies."</p><p>Rocket mumbled under the breath, "And thank goodness for that."</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p>Bumblebee slung both arms around her friends.</p><p>"Ohhkaaay," she said jovially. "The three of us are going to bed. I take it you too are as well?"</p><p>"Yup," said Speedy. "And I'm definitely sleeping in."</p><p>"Let's just hope there's no early morning supervillain activity," replied Bumblebee as the three girls walked past. "Night!"</p><p>"Night."</p><p>Stiff with nerves, Aqualad clasped his hands in front of himself.</p><p>"W-wait!" he called out.</p><p>Speedy and the girls all turned towards him questioningly.</p><p>"I was wondering if I could...talk to Sable real quick," he said.</p><p>"Sable?" asked Bumblebee, looking from her to Aqualad. "Why?"</p><p>"I need to ask her something."</p><p>Bumblebee's eyes widened. "What do you-"</p><p>"<em>Come</em> on, Bee," said Rocket, hooking her arm with her nosy friend's. "These two nature-lovers probably want some time to talk about saving the polar bears 'n stuff."</p><p>"Huh?" said Bumblebee. "No, I just wanna-"</p><p>"I agree, Rox," Speedy said, hooking himself onto Bumblebee's other arm. "Let's give them their privacy."</p><p>Bumblebee writhed within their hold as she was pulled forward. "Omigosh. Sable, Aqualad - <em>both</em> of y'all better tell me everything later!" she said as she was swept away.</p><p>Before they disappeared around the corner, Speedy looked over his shoulder at Aqualad.</p><p>"Geez, fish boy," he said. "why don't you try leaving some hot people for the rest of us?"</p><p>"What the heck is that supposed to mean, Speedy?" asked Bumblebee when Aqualad and Sable could no longer see the three of them.</p><p>The Atlantean stood next to the pretty horned girl, face sheepish.</p><p>"They're so funny," said Sable, shaking her head and giving him an easy-going smile that could quell anyone's anxiety.</p><p>"Yeah," he replied. "Thanks for staying back to talk to me."</p><p>"My pleasure," she said. "What's on your mind?"</p><p>He took a deep breath.</p><p>"I wanted to ask you," he started. "If…if you've ever thought it was harder to interact with humans compared to animals?"</p><p>Her head swayed to the side, long braids dangling along her shoulder.</p><p>"Hmm, what exactly do you mean?" she asked. "Humans are animals too."</p><p>"Yeah, but…" he said. "...sometimes I feel like I have a much easier time getting to know a fish than my own friends. Humans are so complicated."</p><p>Sable laughed. The rich sound vibrated harmoniously against the walls.</p><p>"I see," she replied. "Well, I do think that there exists a certain, unmatchable understanding between me and some of my non-human animal companions. However, I don't think humans are necessarily more or less complicated than non-humans. All of earth's creatures are complex in their own ways."</p><p>"I know, I know…" said Aqualad, the words spilling from lips. "It's just that, well...in Atlantis, and in the ocean in general, I was used to people - all creatures really - behaving in a more….free-flowing manner. They liked to be in community with each other. They embraced new relations and feelings and ways of being and just...rode the current. On land, people and the course of their relationships can feel so set in stone."</p><p>"I can definitely see why you would think that," replied Sable thoughtfully. "Humans are very reliant on systems of order to keep them in check. Some of them are based on very archaic values and ways of categorizing - or judging - others."</p><p>Her fingers went to brush the base of one of her horns before sweeping a braid behind her ear.</p><p>"Yes," he said. "It's...it's almost like humans stay in those archaic boxes most of the time, and when they do choose to come out from them, they still act according to some script that tells them how they're supposed to act in the world. They discipline themselves to keep to that same script and always return to those same boxes. I don't know, maybe...maybe it has something to do with how divorced they are from nature?"</p><p>She held her chin, thinking for a moment.</p><p>"Perhaps," she said, meditative while keeping her smile. "But for every sea creature who swims in a collective of their own, there is likely one who is solitary. And the ocean, like any place, is full of its own rigid structures and hierarchies. You do hail from a monarchial kingdom, after all, your highness."</p><p>He considered her words. "I suppose that is true."</p><p>"And as for the differences between society above and below," Sable continued. "I think across many different cultures - like the ones of my homeland Zambesi for instance - the border between people and <em>nature</em> as it were, is much more porous than one would think. You will come to know that we humans can also be quite fluid, my friend."</p><p>Aqualad looked dismally at the wall. "Believe me, I am eagerly awaiting that day. But the time between knowing things can be scary. We can lose so much interim."</p><p>"That is true," she said. "But we lose things even when we know."</p><p>The vision of a plucky girl in yellow, with a head full of short, wavy hair like red seaweed overtook him. His breathing became shallow as white light consumed her body.</p><p>A warm hand pulled him from the memory. Aqualad looked back at Sable in mild shock.</p><p>"Are you all right?" she asked. Her fingers tentatively interlaced with his.</p><p>"I'm not sure," he said, though he found himself holding her hand back in gratitude.</p><hr/><p>Physically, it wasn't possible for him to drown. Aqualad did believe, however, that drowning was possible for him in a figurative manner. He could easily drown in his doubts. His fears. His own state of contradiction. As maudlin as it may have sounded, that was a genuine encapsulation of how he felt right now.</p><p>It was a quarter to 5 AM, and he hadn't slept for a minute. Sick of flailing in a whirlpool of emotions, he forced his eyes shut. Speedy, Bumblebee, and her friends were all sleeping. Why couldn't he do the same?</p><p><em>That's it</em>, he thought. <em>I'm done thinking about anyone or anything for the moment. Whether it's fleeting or permanent, Atlantean or huma-</em></p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Ding</strong>
  </em>
  <strong>.</strong>
</p><p>His eyes flew open.</p><p>The chime had been loud enough to send faint vibrations through the water, making his body tingle unexpectedly. His arms and legs extended outwards in a much needed stretch. With languid movements, he swam to the surface and emerged from the pool. Sitting beside it was his phone, glowing with a new text.</p><p>He grabbed the device and read the message:</p><p><strong>{ </strong>So...I don't know if it's awkward to text this soon? But I can't stop thinking about you. Please tell me that doesn't sound weird.<strong> }</strong></p><p>Aqualad's pulse quickened.</p><p>Indeed, humans were strange. Insufferable. Unbelievable.</p><p>They were wonderful too - risk of drowning be darned.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>I miss you</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But I haven't met you yet</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So special</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But it hasn't happened yet</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You are gorgeous</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But I haven't met you yet</em>
</p><p>-Björk, "I Miss You"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>[END: TRACK 3]</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Aqualad gives me Keiynan Lonsdale vibes personality-wise, which is funny since he plays (or used to play) Kid Flash on TV and not any iteration of Aqualad lol. But anyway!</p><p>For this story, I really wanted to write a plot with the founding members of the OG Teen Titans, especially Wonder Girl. I also wanted to give Bee a squad of carefree but obv still bossed-up superheroine besties. Naturally, Rocket came to mind. Sable is an original character of mine; I envision her as a mentee of Vixen, hence the reference to the country of Zambesi. My aesthetic for Rocket is very much a punky, Rico Nasty or Fefe Dobson kind of thing. Sable's is more like a chilled out, boho '90s era Lisa Bonet-Erykah Badu wave. Still plan on having fun with their styles later.</p><p>Lastly, exploring queerness as an irreducible part of one's identity and interpersonal relations is very important to me. As far as I know, Garth is not canonically queer in any of his DC incarnations, but idk...my interpretation of him has always been queer. Same goes for Rocket. We stan a super-powered, energy-manipulating bisexual king and queen!</p><p>P.S. Aqualad, with his weird and sensitive lil otherworldly mermaid self, also strikes me as a Björk fan.</p><p>P.P.S. We'll definitely be seeing a "Part II" to his saga in another installment, though probably not for a few more stories. :)</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: Phew, so the first one's up. I'm not sure how regularly I can update, but reviews certainly are welcome encouragement. Overall, I'm super excited about these stories and hope you'll enjoy reading them. This first part was super long, but I'm planning on having the rest be shorter, so hopefully I'll be faster getting them out. Also, I may edit these if I spot typos I somehow missed before, and correct/revise the twins' Spanish dialogue as needed.</p><p>I've been wanting to write a more developed fanfic about the Titans East for a long, long time. Their re-imaginings are based on my own original ideas as well as various iterations of certain characters in other DC continuities. For instance, Bumblebee's costume is meant to draw from her look in Teen Titans: the Judas Contract animated movie. She also has a cheerleader look in DC Bombshells, so that was the inspo for that. Speedy/Arsenal's look is kind of a mix between his Outlaws incarnation and DC rebirth style, punked up a little of course lol</p><p>I also really love Gabriel Picolo's art and re-designs of the main TT. I kind of wanted to invoke that fun teen fashion &amp; pop culture vibe with this project, especially when it comes to envisioning their personal styles when not in uniform.</p><p>Anyway, I could go on and on, but I will end here. Stay tuned for the next installment of Mixtape!</p><p>xoxo</p><p>-el</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>